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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25057009">Ice, Fire and Air</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Callybal/pseuds/Callybal'>Callybal</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Charlie Countryman (2013), Hannibal (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Anal Sex, Blood and Gore, Cannibalism, Drug Addiction, Hannibal (TV) Season/Series 01, Incest, M/M, Masturbation, Mental Instability, Mind Manipulation, Multi, Oral Sex, Polyamory, Threesome - M/M/M, Twincest, Violence, Will Graham Has Encephalitis</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 02:54:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>22,502</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25057009</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Callybal/pseuds/Callybal</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Hannibal and Nigel are twin brothers with a special relationship. And Will joins them.</p><p>Starts at the beginning of the show.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hannibal Lecter/Nigel (Charlie Countryman), Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter, Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter/Nigel (Charlie Countryman), Will Graham/Nigel (Charlie Countryman)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>142</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Thanks to gnawed_kneecaps for the beta reading !</p><p>Original text, in French : https://archiveofourown.org/works/25267183</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Where Hannibal Lecter had built steel facades around his emotions, his twin brother Nigel Lecter was only storms. Where Hannibal seemed forged in ice, it was fire that moulded Nigel. Their terrible past had turned them both into particular monsters, distinct but complementary. </p><p>Hannibal Lecter had multiplied the titles and become part of the upper class. Nigel had become a serious bandit, and had become part of lower society. They both ruled their own little world. </p><p>Hannibal mastered many skills in many disciplines. He was a kind of alchemist; he collected food and turned it into delicacies, he touched a pencil and created a masterpiece, he had his fingers on a keyboard and created travels, he wielded the saber and hand-to-hand combat. Nigel may have been a mobster, but he was not as empty-headed as some might think. His mind was as sharp and intelligent as his brother's. He wasn't as great a cook as Hannibal, but he was very talented anyway, he could play the drums, which he had learned as a teenager, he had a certain gift for writing, and he could handle guns and hand-to-hand combat as well. </p><p>They were both killers. Resisting one in a fight was almost impossible, but resisting both of them, you'd be more likely to get a horn grow in the middle of your forehead. </p><p>They loved each other with pure, tender love. They had once been the same person, and this invisible bond remained between them, even though they lived in two opposite parts of the world. They met twice a year: at Christmas holidays and during the summer. They were the last members of their family, and that made their relationship all the more precious. They had failed to save their parents and sister, so they vowed to look after each other. </p><p>Recently, they had been tired of living so far away from each other. The decision to live apart had been made together, some fifteen years ago, and for several reasons: they had different desires, different opportunities, they wanted to explore personal life paths, and perhaps their relationship had become a little unhealthy for the rest of the world, which could interfere with their anonymity as killers. Now they were talking more and more about getting together, as the time between trips to visit each other was getting shorter. </p><p>Even though they loved each other in this unique and strong way, they were still able to let each other live a dangerous life. Because it was their own nature and they were conscious of this. And because they knew they were superior, and they didn't really worry about each other; their killing abilities were out of the ordinary.</p><p>"What's up, little bro ?" sizzled Nigel's voice on the phone as Hannibal was sitting in his office (so big and exuberant it looked like a public library in a vampire village.)</p><p>Hannibal thought for a few seconds about the past days, sorting through the events quickly, deciding what information to give and what to summarize. "While I was bored lately, because I wasn't making interesting encounters, you know, even the patients had become particularly boring, well, I met a really special person. "Hannibal was looking at a stag statue in his office, thinking about Will Graham and his promising abilities.</p><p>"Ha? What's so special about him or her?" Nigel's voice was curious. Hannibal heard him light a cigarette.</p><p>"Will Graham. Empathy, emotional contagion. He helps the FBI, he penetrates the minds of killers and understands them." Hannibal paused. "He's incredibly skilled at this, and unstable enough in his mind to have become my patient. He has trouble keeping things separate, he gets lost in the minds he visits."</p><p>On the other end of the phone, Nigel doesn't say anything right away. Hannibal knew that Nigel would want to say something about the possibility that this stranger might enter Hannibal's mind or even his own.  However, they were on the phone, and they were forced to speak in code language, in case their line was ever tapped. Fortunately, they knew each other well enough to always understand what was behind the other's words.</p><p>"Interesting," Nigel said, in a tone that made Hannibal understand what he was implying. "Is he cute?" he added, more to tease him and lighten the discussion.</p><p>"Nigel, cannot you think of anything else?" Hannibal wasn't in the reproachful mood, he'd said that lightly as well.  With Nigel, he could afford to be light, to joke about little things.  He didn't do it with anyone else, at least not sincerely.</p><p>"Hanni, cannot you say 'you can't' like everyone else?"</p><p>Hannibal smiled. They liked to tease each other, often about the same things, but this complicity warmed their lonely hearts. </p><p>"Let's get back to my story," Hannibal almost rebuked him, but Nigel just had a laugh through the receiver. " So, I'm going with him on some crime scenes, too. It's hectic. He killed someone yesterday, a serial killer, to save his daughter." Hannibal couldn't tell his brother that he played a part in this, that he himself had pushed this event to take an entertaining turn. But Nigel knew that whenever Hannibal was somewhere, he'd move some pieces and watch what was going on. That was his main distraction.</p><p>"Well," Nigel said, and his voice implied that he found it interesting and enjoyable. "How he’s handling it ?" Which meant, 'is he like us' ?</p><p>"Perturbed." Hannibal paused and thought carefully about his words. "He's a former police officer, but he shot the victim ten times." That answered his twin's question; Will had the potential, all he had to do was blossom it. "But I'll help him through the ordeal."</p><p>Nigel couldn't help laughing hard enough. "Fuck no doubt about it." Hannibal heard him inhale his cigarette. </p><p>"And how are you, Nigel?"</p><p>There was silence. "I'm still trying to get over that bitch," Nigel grumbled.</p><p>Nigel had just gotten divorced, and he was having a rough time processing the story for a few months. Hannibal didn't like the situation ; he feared his brother would self-destruct. Nigel had a history with drugs; he was still using recreational drugs, but he had overcome the most problematic addictions. Hannibal lived with the worry that he would relapse into them. "No excesses?" Hannibal asked in a serious and concerned tone.</p><p>"Damn it, Hanni, stop pissing me off about this, okay?" Nigel was aggressive.</p><p>Hannibal froze. Normally, Nigel would have reassured him that he was clean and not to worry. If he got defensive and rejected him, then something was wrong. Hannibal took a deep breath.</p><p>He shouldn't rush his brother on this topic if he doesn't want Nigel to reject him and say nothing more.  Drugs make you aggressive against all those who oppose them; little by little they take the place of all the people who matter. "Nigel, would you like to come and see me?" said Hannibal in a neutral but gentle voice.</p><p>The thug grunted a little, and Hannibal knew he was squashing his cigarette. "I've got a job, you know. »</p><p>"Nigel, you're the boss," the psychiatrist reminded him. The excuse wasn't valid. Nigel was going to find a whole lot of them, because he wouldn't want to come with his addictions. Hannibal didn't give him the chance. "I want to see you, Nigel, don't make me have to come to find you." Hannibal was playing emotionally. He wasn't an expert manipulator by accident.</p><p> </p><p>" Fuck, Hanni, so all of a sudden you want to see me so badly?" Nigel sighed. "Did something happen?"</p><p>Hannibal's thinking quickly about an excuse. He was glad Nigel didn't understand his stratagem. But it was normal, he had already promised Nigel several times that he wouldn't lie to him, yet he sometimes did. Then it would erupt into a violent argument, and eventually it will soon, but Hannibal didn't care. It was worth it if it was about saving his brother.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm going to have surgery, they found a tumor in my thigh." He added quickly, before his brother went into cardiac arrest. " Benign, but I wish you could be there."</p><p>"What, are you fucking serious ? Since when, why didn't you tell me? "Hannibal could tell Nigel had gotten up, he was screaming in a loud voice.</p><p>"It's no big deal, it'll be over soon," he'd try to calm him down. He still blamed himself for worrying him.</p><p>**</p><p> </p><p>When Nigel hung up, he was furious, his limbs were tense. He looked around and felt shabby; his apartment was a shambles, strewn with rubbish and dirty. He was on the slippery slope and he was more than aware of it. He had just wanted to take a break, let himself go for a week, quit work, relax with a bit of heroin. But the weeks had multiplied. </p><p>It wasn't really like him. Nigel was a fighter, and he'd always been one. There was no obstacle to stop him if he wanted something. But the bitch had eaten his heart out like a scavenger, and he was lying in his own shit now. And now his brother had a problem and he felt helpless. He thought he should have gone to his twin brother's house after the divorce, and not stay alone.</p><p>But the damage was done. The heroin had won. It always won, over everyone. It seeped through the veins and into the brain, until you become able to sell your own mother for a dose.</p><p>Nigel lit himself a cigarette and sat down on his unmade bed. His legs were shaking. He had lost weight. He figured his brother could help him, Hannibal always had magic cures. Hannibal would take him in his arms and help him quit his addiction. </p><p>His thoughts vanished as the needle entered his mangled vein.</p><p>**</p><p>The relationship between Hannibal and Will was evolving the way Hannibal wanted it to. Will, who had initially told Hannibal that he didn't find him interesting, was beginning to be more open and to trust the psychiatrist. The doctor always managed to make sure that Will would eventually come to him when he was in distress.</p><p>Abigail, the orphaned daughter whose father had been killed by Will, was a positive element in their relationship. Hannibal played the Good Samaritan with her, the worried and concerned foster father. However, he wasn't entirely lying, he was starting to get attached to the girl in some way. Especially since he had learned that this wounded bird was actually hiding a cold complicity in the murders of her father The Minnesota Shrike.</p><p>Will was moving through this phase in which he was denying the pleasure he had felt in killing - but Hannibal was effectively guiding him to the next steps, towards the acceptance and appreciation of the delight.</p><p>Hannibal persevered; he saw in Will the possibility of expanding the duo he and his brother constituted, of welcoming a novice killer that they could shape in their own image. He hadn't yet been able to confide in his brother about this design, but he didn't really doubt that Nigel would welcome the project with some pleasure. Hannibal, however, did not reject the possibility that Nigel would pull out his claws out of jealousy as well, and that he might feel insufficient. Nigel was emotional. But Hannibal would be there to reassure him; Nigel was sufficient for all aspects of his life, but Hannibal never refused to increase his sphere of pleasure.</p><p>Hannibal went to the airport to pick up his twin brother, with a certain impatience. He had prepared a glass box for him with a meal that Nigel could eat in the car on the way back. </p><p>When Hannibal saw the identical visage in the crowd of passengers disembarking in the lobby, his heart filled with a joy he felt only when he saw Nigel. They didn't say anything, but embraced each other forcefully; to find back their smells and their skins was to go home. Each sighed with pleasure before they let go of each other, stepping back to look at each other and smiling in the same way. A mirror between them. There were only a few wrinkles, hair and a tattoo that differentiated them.</p><p>"Baby Hanni," Nigel said warmly, and he couldn't help but slip a hand through Hannibal's hair to mess it up. "Why that strict look," he provoked him.</p><p>Hannibal smiled, refraining from rolling his eyes at the nicknames and gestures. He wasn't really exasperated, he liked Nigel's manners and his teasing voice. "Nigel, please, I can be recognized here," the psychiatrist gently scolded him, putting his hair back the right way.</p><p>Nigel had lost weight, Hannibal could tell. His facial features were drawn in a tired way, and his dark circles, and cheekbones were hollowed from the excess of drugs. But Hannibal didn't say anything, pretending it didn't exist for now. One thing at a time.</p><p>He helped his brother with his luggage, and they walked to the car. As soon as they got out of the airport, Nigel lit a cigarette, smoking it compulsively as he walked. They talked lightly, and Nigel ate the prepared meal on the way to Hannibal's house. He wasn't naive about its contents, Hannibal had served him human meat once again. But he had never made a problem of it, he wasn't particularly for or against it, what mattered was that Hannibal had cooked it in his honour, and so Nigel swallowed the precious gift with appetite and gratitude.</p><p>**</p><p> </p><p>Once safe in the home of the cannibal psychiatrist, it was easier to talk openly than on the phone. It was a relief. They were able to tell each other secret, illegal things. Hannibal related his entire project about Will Graham, recounting each event with the intentions and manipulations he had performed. Nigel, though, didn't tell much about his work or his activities, and Hannibal knew it was because he hadn't been able to do anything anymore because of the addiction. He had known it was heroin fairly quickly, first by seeing Nigel and then by sniffing it when he had hugged him.</p><p>"And what are you planning to do with him? Let him go on a killing spree before you show him your true nature, then cook him properly?" asked Nigel, as they were sitting under the arbor in the garden at the back of the house. Together, they often sat outside so Nigel could smoke freely. Hannibal had served them two cups of Indian tea.</p><p>"Not really," Hannibal replied, looking for the right words so as not to offend Nigel. "First, I entertain myself, it's delectable to see him running after the Chesapeake Ripper," he began.With Hannibal being the Ripper himself, Nigel could only imagine how much amusement it must have been watching Will scramble to find him while the Ripper stood beside him daily.  Nigel would even say it must have been downright thrilling. A feeling of power. "I have many plans, you know, depending on how events develop." Hannibal smiled softly, with some warmth and comfort, and he grabbed Nigel's hand.</p><p>Nigel frowned. He was now expecting an unexpected revelation.  "Fuck, spit it out," Nigel scolded, but he squeezed his brother's fingers back.</p><p>"One of those plans, my favorite," Hannibal began with a calm, articulate voice, "is to encourage him to discover and understand us."</p><p>Nigel wrinkled his nose, staring at Hannibal. "Us ?"</p><p>"Indeed." That was a firm answer, not one that needed any clarification. Hannibal waited for Nigel to follow up with more questions.</p><p>"And once he understands?" he inevitably asked. Obviously, Hannibal wasn't planning to eat him, if he was so careful with Nigel. A strange lump settled in the drug dealer's intestines, and he lit a cigarette with his free hand.</p><p>"We could keep him with us," Hannibal cautiously suggested.</p><p>Nigel growled, and he dropped his brother's hand. The pain radiated to his chest. "What the fuck are you saying to me, are you fucking high or what? We don't need him between us," Nigel snapped, inspiring a deep, nervous puff on his cigarette.</p><p>"Nigel." The voice was still soft, and Hannibal pulled Nigel by the wrist this time, bending over and staring at him. They were close enough that his breath swept across his twin's face. "You're my twin brother, and no one can replace you, I know you understand me better than anyone else, and no one can separate us," he articulated, and eventually put his forehead against his brother's forehead. He felt Nigel's pain and it was unbearable. His free hand rested on his brother's cheek, and he caressed it with his thumb, with infinite tenderness. "I love you more than anything, you know that, don't be afraid."</p><p>Nigel stared back at his brother, letting the cigarette burn in his hand, and enjoying every touch Hannibal made on him. A bubble was recreating all around them when they were so close, a familiar and primitive bubble, the one they had grown up in. Nigel closed his eyes and sighed slightly jerky. "Yeah I know, I'm not giving you a fucking jealous fit, but we really don't need any bugger," he defended himself.</p><p>"Of course we don't need him," confirmed Hannibal, and he smiled fondly when Nigel opened his eyes. It was hard to sustain such a close look. "But I want to try, it might entertain us both, he might do us some good," Hannibal finally suggested, and the way his lips rose to one side only, and the way his pupils dilated, suggested something more.</p><p>Nigel sighed again, to drive the pain and anxiety out of his body. "Yeah, but, fuck, you're a pain in the ass with your stupid plans," he finally said, but his voice had calmed down. He was surrendering, he was trusting Hannibal. A few seconds passed, then Nigel smashed his cigarette and separated his face from his brother's face. A neighbor could see them. After a little while, with Hannibal's hands still holding him, Nigel pushed his free hand onto his little brother's thigh, tilting his head slightly to one side. "We could already do some good for ourselves," and his smile became carnivorous.</p><p>Hannibal felt a warmth spreading through his belly. He and his brother were involved in a variety of activities together, and that included sexuality. It had never been a problem, it had always been a normal progression, a natural continuation of things. Since they had seen each other at the airport, each of them had felt this electrical tension in the air, this desire. But they liked to wait, to play with this fire inside them, until they couldn't take it anymore, and at that moment things became explosive.</p><p>"Inside," Hannibal growled in a hungry voice now, his pupils dilated more. He released Nigel and stood up to sneak into the house, followed very closely by an excited and impulsive twin.</p><p>**</p><p>They often fought for dominance, and it was almost a traditional game between them. At that level, they couldn't compete with any other partner. Their ways of grabbing, biting and scratching each other, between frantic kisses, their ways of pushing each other, getting stuck under each other or against a wall or any piece of furniture, all of these were unique and among the most exciting things they could experience.</p><p>At that moment, Hannibal had managed to pin Nigel against the back of the couch, having trapped his arms in his back, one knee pressed against his ribs. They were already naked and marked with teeth marks and saliva, and their erections were thick and oozing. Nigel grunted with pleasure as his brother nibbled at his ear. But he wasn't going to give up yet.</p><p>As soon as Hannibal released the pressure and let his guard down because he thought the game was over, Nigel pushed him hard and pushed him to the ground, immediately throwing himself on top of him and sitting on his ass, grabbing his now tousled hair and turning his head towards him. Hannibal screamed in pain at his neck, panting. But he didn't stop his brother, it excited him terribly. They were two wolves, two killers with boiling blood, with an aggressiveness too cumbersome.</p><p>Eventually, Hannibal gave in to submission. There was always one who did, the one who wanted it the most when the time came. Neither of them was particularly dominant or dominated when they had sex together; it was as delightful to penetrate, to enter into the intimacy of the other, as it was to be invaded by him. In any case, it was a return to what was most intimate and primitive, and they could devote an impressive amount of time to it, alternating positions and cadences.</p><p>Nigel prepared Hannibal without any real tenderness, and Hannibal knew it was a way to punish him for having hurt his heart earlier. But he took Nigel as Nigel wanted, accepting the fingers coated with saliva that plowed his insides, letting himself be stretched with a little pain. Hannibal pushed his forehead against the floor, growling softly, both in frustration and pleasure.</p><p>Nigel took Hannibal in a purely animal manner; he grabbed his neck with his teeth and went straight into him. He wrapped his muscular arm - whose inner elbow was bluish - around Hannibal's throat, arching him slightly as he fucked him deliciously. Their moans combined perfectly, it became impossible to identify the sources. </p><p>Nigel was sweating and slipping against the psychiatrist, and Hannibal was madly excited to feel his twin banging his prostate precisely. Hannibal had studied anatomy, and together they had learned how to touch each other's best spots. Hannibal could have stroked himself at the same time, or Nigel could have masturbated him; but it was part of the silent punishment for not doing so, and that frustration added to the pleasure.</p><p>When Nigel came inside him, he opened his mouth in a white sound. Hannibal felt the penis pulsating inside, a few waves ejecting the thick white seed. Hannibal closed his eyes, happy and fulfilled. They were so close together, so fused into each other, that when one had an orgasm, the other felt it just as strongly, mentally.</p><p>Hannibal knew exactly where he was going to orgasm.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Will meets Nigel. And more...</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks to gnawed_kneecaps for the beta reading</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hannibal had waited for his brother to fall asleep on the couch, his body exhausted and filled with pleasure, and then he had performed a carefully thought-out plan. Typical Hannibal Lecter.</p><p>He had handcuffed his brother, hands behind his back, with such delicacy that he had managed not to wake him up. If anyone had touched Nigel Lecter in his sleep, he would have jumped to his feet and reflexively tried to grab a gun. But when it was Hannibal's hands, his smell, and his voice whispering kind words, Nigel remained calm. It was the contact with the steel and the 'click' that opened his eyes.</p><p>Nigel blinked several times and very quickly became aware of the situation. He searched for his brother with his eyes and smiled mischievously and lazily. "Haven't you had enough?" he grumbled in a voice still muffled by sleep. It must have been the middle of the night.</p><p>Hannibal sat down beside him and put a soft hand on his brother's shoulder. He didn't smile, and Nigel frowned. It wasn't a sex game.</p><p>"What the hell are you doing ?" asked Nigel and he tried to sit up, with difficulty with his hands stuck behind his back.</p><p>Hannibal took a calm voice, and he slid his hand up to Nigel's elbow. Without warning, he squeezed the veins on the inside of the joint. Nigel whistled in pain, his veins were swollen and aching, lefting blue and purple marks on his skin. He instantly understood that his brother knew. Nigel had suspected that Hannibal would figure it out sooner or later, but he had just wait for the moment when it would fall on him. The Sword of Damocles.</p><p>"Heroin, Nigel, you couldn't have fallen any lower," Hannibal reprimanded him, and there was a barely perceptible pain in his voice, but Nigel could hear it. The two brothers had a heavy heart at that time, pricked with vicious little needles that martyred the flesh.</p><p>Nigel sighed, and shame took hold of his body and mind. "Yeah, I'm not proud, you know, but, fuck, it hasn't been easy these past few months." He was searching for excuses, and Hannibal tilted his head slightly to the side as he looked at him. It wasn't a good enough excuse. And Nigel knew that.</p><p>Seeing that Hannibal wasn't responding, Nigel sighed again. In his brain, thoughts were intermingled and he found it difficult to see clearly, to assume his situation in front of his loving and yet implacable brother. "Okay, I'll stop, I was going to, but, I don't know, it wasn't the right time."</p><p>Hannibal frowned slightly, and his gaze darkened on his brother. The kind of face that didn't augur well, Nigel thought. Hannibal could look like the Grim Reaper in person, decked out in the guise of a god of death, ready to ruthlessly take a life. "Not the right time? You do not succeed, Nigel, no one can do it alone. »</p><p>Nigel reconsidered his situation. He had tried to dispel the worry about Hannibal tying him up, but it was coming back, dark and threatening, just like his brother. "What the fuck are you gonna do to me, leave me tied up so I don't get any? Are you serious, Hanni? Don't you dare be such a prick," he shouted, but his voice faded at the end, as he became aware. Hannibal was more than capable of it. Hannibal was probably the one who had the lower morality, between the two.</p><p>"Fuck," Nigel cursed, because Hannibal had remained stoic. He was acting as the psychiatrist, he was becoming a mirror to someone so that person could understand himself. "Don't bullshit me, there are other ways, I swear I'll cut off your fingers if you dare to do anything like that to me." Nigel's anger was rising. Even if it was Hannibal, he didn't want to go through such a brutal and vicious withdrawal. If anyone would have dared to do something like that, he would have made him eat his eyes and tail. But it was Hannibal, and deep down Nigel knew that he wasn't really mad at him, that his brother was just trying to help him.</p><p>"Nigel," Hannibal finally spoke, and he got closer to his brother on the couch, running a hand through his unhealthy hair. "I'm not going to make you quit overnight, I love you too much to make you suffer like this," he whispered softly, and Nigel sighed with relief, almost shaking under his brother's hands. Hannibal leaned closer, and placed a gentle kiss on Nigel's naked and soft shoulder. "We're going to reduce the doses, and then proceed with substitution therapy." It wasn't a proposal, it was the program, already calculated by Hannibal, with no way out. "I'm not going to keep you restrained, but you have to promise me that you won't try to contact a dealer," Hannibal threatened him, and he gave Nigel a nod.</p><p>"Okay, okay, I'll be transparent, I, damn it," he sighed. He didn't know what to say. He should thank his brother for helping him, but the thought of not having any more drugs was already driving him crazy inside. He knew what would follow; the lack was an irascible whore who would wring his skull and chew up his reason. But Hannibal was offering to gradually reduce the drug, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad. </p><p>" Okay, yeah, I promise," he breathed, worried about what would happen next. "Untie me, I'm not going to hit you, it's okay," he added, and then he had a small laugh. "You're just afraid I'm going to hit you, baby Hanni." He was trying to lighten the ambiance.</p><p>Hannibal pinched him. "I'm not afraid you're going to hit me, you know that," he felt obliged to correct. Hannibal stood up, and Nigel grumbled behind him, but when he returned, he was holding some material on a tray. Hannibal had already been collecting everything he needed. </p><p>Nigel's eyes gleamed at the sight. He was already in need. The last injection was in the morning, and they were now late at night. He was upset that he felt so grateful at the sight of the drug, but that was exactly the effect it had on people.</p><p>"I'm the one who's going to inject you, you've completely ruined your arms, my brother," Hannibal declared, sitting down next to him. He could see that Nigel was impatient, and the vision made him nauseous. However, Hannibal persisted and Nigel could no longer hide his pleasure when the dose finally entered his bloodstream.</p><p>He had forgotten to ask to be untied.</p><p>**</p><p>"I won't introduce Will until you're clean," Hannibal announced one morning over breakfast. He placed fried eggs on a plate and handed one to his brother, who was sitting, drinking his coffee. </p><p>"Come on, I'm not dangerous, let me see what he really looks and smells like," Nigel smiled. He had a keen sense of smell like Hannibal.</p><p>"No," replied his twin firmly, who came to sit on the central island unit as well. "He's unstable, you could ruin all my work with your indelicate hands," Hannibal provoked him, raising an eyebrow at him.</p><p>"My 'indelicate hands'?" Nigel laughed frankly, then took a sip of his coffee." That's not what you say when I handle you with them, you fucking ingrate."</p><p>Hannibal chuckled back, giving him a look. "All right, I rushed to the terms. "</p><p>**</p><p>Now Hannibal and Abigail shared a secret: he was protecting her for Nikolas' murder, and she was keeping the secret of Hannibal's call to her father Hobbs. With Will, the investigations kept going and the consultations continued. The bond between psychiatrist and patient developed, and Will was now confiding in him openly. </p><p>One night, the police found Will wandering on a road, not knowing how he got there.</p><p>That morning at dawn, Will rang Hannibal's doorbell.</p><p>Hannibal awoke instantly, and Nigel's heavy arm dropped from his chest. Nigel had a guest room furnished, but he never occupied it when he was at Hannibal's house, it was only an alibi. Nigel grunted, turning lazily. "What the hell," he muttered in his muffled voice.</p><p>Hannibal got up from bed, putting on a silk robe. "I don't know, please stay here," he asked and simultaneously commanded his naked twin in the bed.</p><p>Hannibal found a confused Will at the door. "Hello, Will," he said quietly, and moved aside to let him in. His doors were all open to Will, and he was already curious to know what brought him in so early.</p><p>Will went in and followed him to the kitchen, mumbling a somewhat confused 'hello'. Hannibal went directly to start making coffee. It was a long process, with Italian accessories. Will stood in the middle of the kitchen, watching Hannibal do it.</p><p>"Sleepwalking," Will whispered, hands in his pockets.</p><p>Hannibal waited some minutes before to talk.</p><p>"Although I may be, it is safe to assume you’re not sleepwalking now."1</p><p>"Sorry it’s so early," Will replied. He glanced at the ground before looking back at Hannibal.</p><p>"Never apologize for coming to me. Office hours are for patients, my kitchen is always open to friends." Hannibal poured coffee and sugar into a cup and stirred in a characteristic silver-on-porcelain sound.</p><p>They discussed Will's sleepwalking, post-traumatic stress disorder, Jack Crawford, manipulation, control, aggression and the devil.</p><p>"You said Jack sees me as finest China used for special guests. I begin to feel more like an old mug."</p><p>Hannibal glanced at him with a discreet smile. "You entered into a devil bargain with Jack Crawford. It takes a toll." Hannibal implied that he was talking about Jack, but he was talking about himself at that time. The psychiatrist was delighting in plays on words, he took a malicious pleasure in circling Will, often talking about himself, without his patient and friend realizing it. It was ecstatic. The so-called "toll" was far more consequential than Will could comprehend.</p><p>"Jack isn’t the devil." Will replied, taking a sip of coffee.</p><p>"When it comes to how far he’s willing to push you to get what he wants, he’s certainly no Saint."2<br/>
Once again, Hannibal could refer to himself.</p><p>Will was silent for a few seconds to think, but a noise upstairs interrupted his flow of thoughts. He frowned slightly, and took a quick look at Hannibal. "Do you have a visitor?"</p><p>Hannibal cursed his brother inside. He didn't blame Will for the indiscretion of his question, Will wasn't always aware of such things.</p><p>"Indeed," he said sincerely, because it was the simplest.  That way, Will would leave fairly quickly and avoid a confrontation.</p><p>"Sorry again for coming," Will repeated, even though Hannibal had already told him not to. He finished his coffee and went to put it on the center island in the kitchen when he heard footsteps on the stairs.</p><p>Hannibal felt a murderous impulse rise inside him - of course, completely invisible. Nigel was truly a disobedient dog. Hannibal knew that he was going to barge in and act as if he hadn't done it on purpose.</p><p>"I have a brother," he quickly explained to Will.</p><p>Will stopped for a moment, then put the cup down. "I'll leave now," he announced, because Will didn't necessarily like strangers and improvised situations. In fact, he hated them.</p><p>But Nigel didn't give him a chance to leave. The warm-blooded bastard bandit came into the kitchen with confident steps and a sly smile on his face, in cotton sweatpants and bare-chested.</p><p>Will blinked his eyes several times at the sight, and it seemed he was reliving something worse than the confusion he had experienced when he came back to his senses in the middle of an unfamiliar road during the night. Hannibal's copy was standing in the kitchen doorway, and it was completely disconcerting, to say the least.</p><p>"A twin brother," Hannibal said in an accusing tone of voice towards Nigel.</p><p>Nigel only laughed softly in response. "Himself, Nigel," he trumpeted proudly, and without any caution he approached Will, reaching out his hand to shake it, clearly invading his personal space.</p><p>Hannibal had always been so careful with Will. Now Nigel was really coming at him with his 'indelicate hands' and rude manners. Hannibal was fulminating inside, but he kept his impeccable suit of politeness.</p><p>Will froze at the approach of the stranger - yet so familiar. In his brain a thousand thoughts seemed to swirl, and finally after a few seconds of incomprehension he raised his hand to shake Nigel's, but no words came out.</p><p>Nigel tilted his head to the side. Will's hand had been so hesitant, but warm. "No name?" he teased him, trying to relax the other. Obviously, he hadn't expected him to be as disturbed as Hannibal had told him.</p><p>"Will," the profiler finally answered, and his eyes began to pass between the two brothers several times. "Sorry, I was surprised, I didn't know you had a twin brother," he mumbled, speaking clearly to Hannibal. In fact, his eyes soon left Nigel.</p><p>Something else was troubling Will, but he couldn't figure out what. Social pressure and the whole situation weren't helping him to go back in time and understand everything. He could only do that if he was completely calm, and after that night and that meeting, he was pretty shaken up.</p><p>"Yeah, he's hiding me in the basement, he's a sadist," Nigel teased, but the look he gave Hannibal, full of innuendo, made it clear that it wasn't really humor. But thankfully, Will was too confused to perceive it clearly.</p><p>Nigel approached the island to pour himself a cup of coffee, and he came over and gave Hannibal a noisy kiss on the cheek. Hannibal glanced at the knives on the island, and frankly, he had a delightful vision of himself bleeding his brother on the counter. The fact that Nigel was making unwelcome jokes about his sadistic side was definitely a sufficient reason to painfully punish him. Nigel was menacing Hannibal's plans for Will. Of course, it was all a fantasy - Hannibal couldn't really hurt his brother.</p><p>"We won't need your humor, Nigel, you interrupted us in the middle of a discussion," he said bitterly.</p><p>Nigel could of course discern Hannibal's bad mood, but he just thought it was because he had disobeyed him. Nigel thought that he had free will too, and that he could try to relax the situation. "Oops, sorry," he said with his usual irony. "What were you guys talking about? The three of us could talk, together." Again, his sentence was full of subtext.</p><p>"Nigel." This time, Hannibal's voice had a clearly threatening intonation, and Will himself jumped. Hannibal was a perfect example of composure and politeness and lack of emotional outbursts. To hear that tone come out of him, it froze the bones.</p><p>Will rejected the thought; it was normal to be more spontaneous with the family.</p><p>Nigel, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow, a little surprised too. He had wanted to have fun, he didn't think he'd upset Hannibal that much. Hannibal usually liked to play with people. But it was true that his plans with Will were long term, finely measured. </p><p>Will began to walk towards the door, opening his mouth to talk but no longer sure what to say. He felt as if he had been the cause of the argument between the two brothers, and that put him in an awkward position. He could feel an electric and dangerous tension circulating in the room now, and it made him want to run away at full speed. Primitive survival reflex? "I'm leaving, I'll see you at your office." And he left the room without actually saying goodbye.</p><p>**</p><p>When the front door slammed shut, Hannibal didn't wait a second before grabbing one of the knives he had been eyeing and sliding it against his brother's throat. Nigel had sensed that Hannibal would do something, but he hadn't expected such a quick and, especially, violent reaction.<br/>
Nigel was normally impulsive and violent - if someone had pulled a knife on him, he would have easily parried the assault and executed the person without any further ado. With Hannibal, Nigel softened.</p><p>His eyes darkened, however, and he stared at Hannibal menacingly and incomprehensibly. "Take that back now, Hanni."</p><p>He knew that his brother would never hurt him with a weapon, that it was only a way to show him that he was displeased. But Nigel was hurt that it was so excessive. </p><p>"I told you not to come," Hannibal said. He wasn't even really pressing the knife against Nigel's throat, he just wanted to send a clear message of his disapproval.</p><p>"You said I wouldn't see him until I was clean, yeah? Well, good news I almost am, so get this fucking knife out of my throat or I swear I'll get the fuck out of your shitty house." Nigel was practically screaming and his hands were shaking, but he didn't want to use it. He had to calm the situation down and not aggravate it.</p><p>Hannibal surrendered. He calmly pulled the knife from his throat and put it on the counter. "You've gone too far, you mustn't interfere with my plans, I've worked very much with him, so please don't ruin it, Nigel." The request was clear, and now his voice was calmer.</p><p>"Ruin it? This guy's already standing between us," Nigel scolded. He imagined eliminating Will, and forgetting about this whole story that's dangerous for everyone. Hannibal really had some crazy, sick plans, he thought.</p><p>"Stop this, Nigel," Hannibal sighed and shook his head. He reached over for more coffee. "We've had this discussion before. And don't act like you didn't want him, too, the second you saw him."</p><p>Nigel squinted, and looked at his brother for a few seconds - things cleared up in his thoughts. "You really want him, eh." His tone was calm. It was a statement; he'd already figured out that Hannibal wanted Will, but he hadn't figured it out that it was so strongly. It reminded him of his Gaby, and he felt a painful lump across his belly.</p><p>Hannibal didn't say a word, but he looked at him, and Nigel understood what it meant. </p><p>Nigel couldn't go against it. The bright side was that Hannibal offered to share, from the beginning. He was offering him a piece of Will on a platter. Nigel probably would have done the same thing with Gaby, but the question had never arisen. Clearly they both had problems with obsession ; if they decided to get something, they would move heaven and earth. They would fall for it.</p><p>Nigel had a sudden urge towards his brother, and he approached him to embrace him, to offer him contact and to take some himself. Hannibal promptly responded, placing his arms around him tightly in return. "Sorry, Hanni, I didn't realize it was that much," Nigel whispered in his ear, and he kissed the sensitive area just below.</p><p>Hannibal sighed and relaxed. With Nigel, he could let it all out, drop his facades of ice and steel. "Thank you, my brother," Hannibal replied, shivering slightly at the kiss on his neck.</p><p>After a few seconds, Nigel added, "Hey, by the way, you're right, he's pretty hot, I'd give him a good treat." Nigel laughed as he felt his naked side get pinched.</p><p> </p><p>**</p><p>Hannibal saw Will again in familiar contexts, including the story of the 'Angel Maker' and Will's hallucinations. Will was beginning to seriously lose himself. His awakenings in improbable places and his amnesia continued. Hannibal knew Will had encephalitis, but he deliberately maintained it.</p><p>Then came the case of Abel Gideon who dared to impersonate The Chesapeake Ripper, and Hannibal had to reassert his place. Clearly, there was a lot to deal with these days.</p><p>When Nigel offered him a massage one night to relieve the tension, Hannibal gratefully accepted. Nigel had strong hands and was a very good masseur. Hannibal lay naked on his bed, leaving his brother to take care of him. It was delicious.</p><p>"I'm going to organize a dinner for you and Will, so you two can finally meet," Hannibal said, moaning with pleasure as Nigel passed over a tense muscle. </p><p>Nigel stopped his movements for a second, then smiled. "What changed your mind? I'm not clean yet."</p><p>"You're close," Hannibal encouraged him, shutting his eyes as he savored the caresses. "But mostly, Will is losing his mind. Soon he won't even really understand who you are anymore, I'm afraid. »</p><p>Nigel had heard Hannibal's daily stories. He squeezed his own lips, refraining from saying anything. He wanted to reprimand his brother for letting the poor Will or other people fall this way. Sure, Nigel was twisted and dangerous, but Hannibal could really be a lot crueler sometimes. If he wasn't his twin, the Bucharest bandit would swear that Hannibal was the Devil himself.</p><p> </p><p>**</p><p>Hannibal closed the buttons on Nigel's shirt. "Don't forget, he has problems with his personal space, and he perceives a lot, try not to say too much," Hannibal advised him one last time. </p><p>Nigel wore a simple black shirt and jeans, while Hannibal had put on one of his exuberant suits. Dinner was already ready, containing, of course, meat from one of his victims. A heart, in fact. This dinner celebrated different particular loves.</p><p>"Hanni, I'm not an idiot, I think you've told me enough," Nigel scolded him, giving him a grumpy look. He leaned over and stole a kiss from his brother. "I'm going to decant the wine, so go and set a table as you know how to do it so well. »</p><p>Hannibal smiled at the kiss, and went to set the table.</p><p>A few minutes later, Will rang the doorbell. The two brothers exchanged glances, and both had some apprehensions, finally. They had to show a positive image; they had to be careful about their particular relationship or murderous tendencies. Especially their murderous tendencies. When each was alone, it was easy. But together, when their bubble was forming again, they sometimes tended to indulge. They didn't like being together in public, they were too natural with each other to make it easy to fake. </p><p>"Go and open," Hannibal said to Nigel with a little smile. Nigel was delighted.</p><p>**</p><p>"Good evening," Nigel said joyfully as he opened the door.</p><p>Obviously, Will wasn't expecting this. He blinked two or three times, as if to check who it was. Will had immediately sensed that it wasn't Hannibal, but the disturbing resemblance clouded his senses. The empath rubbed a temple.</p><p>"Good evening," he replied in a slightly gruff manner, bowing his head as the other moved to let him in.</p><p>Will entered the kitchen with a bottle of wine, raising it to show Hannibal hesitantly. "Good evening. I... don't know what that's worth." Hannibal took the bottle from his hands with a smile on his face. </p><p>"Thanks for the attention," he replied warmly, trying to relax Will. Nigel had got the message, so he stood at a distance, and Hannibal gave him a complicit little smile that Will didn't see.</p><p>Will worried about this meal. Will opened up to Hannibal because they had things to say to each other, about his mind, or investigations, or psychology, or other things that were a bit philosophical. But what Will hated were situations where there was nothing to talk about, where people had to talk about futile things to fill in the blanks. He wasn't comfortable with that at all, and he didn't understand the point and the functioning of it. If there was nothing to say, then it was better not to talk. Yet when strangers met, it was this kind of discussion that was required.</p><p>But Hannibal was his psychiatrist, he understood him, and he probably knew his brother by heart. So Will hoped Hannibal would be careful not to fall into trivialities.</p><p>"Nigel, would you mind putting Will's jacket away while I serve the drinks?" asked the psychiatrist, and Nigel seemed delighted to approach Will while he waited for him to give him his jacket.</p><p>"It's ok, I can do it," Will replied. It had seemed defensive, but Will just didn't want a stranger to take care of him, that was all.</p><p>"I'm sorry, Will," Hannibal apologized immediately. Will seemed particularly inhibited, and they were going to have to work a little bit to ease that situation. "Of course, you can go put it away yourself. "</p><p>Will seemed to struggle with his thoughts for a few seconds, his eyes waving slowly in their orbits. "It's me, sorry, that was rude," he corrected himself, and finally took off his wet jacket from the outside rain, and gave it to Nigel with an imprecise gesture. He tended to forget that Hannibal could be so mannered. No one at his house would take someone else's jacket; but if it was happening here, Will could adapt.</p><p>Nigel took it and gave him a warm, friendly smile, and then left to put it in the hall closet.</p><p>"You're here in confidence, Will, Nigel's my brother and he's nice, despite looking a little rough at times," Hannibal said as he walked beside him, smiling and showing his teeth - slightly out of alignment, a little too sharp.</p><p>Will glanced at him, then appeared to integrate the information, and finally nodded his head. "I don't have a problem with roughness," Will corrected him, but he understood the psychiatrist's intention. " Thank you for the invitation. "</p><p>"Now, dinner," the doctor proposed, bringing the wine and letting his brother and Will settle down. He served them the alcohol as the polite host he was, before leaving to fetch the appetizers. Nigel, on the other hand, was discreetly peering at Will, wondering if the other man was always so quiet, so clumsy, and he related Hannibal's stories to the empath's attitude. Will was the kind of man who, according to Hannibal's description, basked in the silence.For once, Nigel stayed quiet, he had settled down calmly. He really wanted to make a good impression, for Hannibal and for all of them. If Will was so promising to them that was his brother promoting, it was worth holding his sour tongue.</p><p>"Cloudy eggs in shell, sprinkled with caviar," Hannibal proudly announced as he returned, and Nigel let out a little laugh. </p><p>"Shit, how solemn you are with the kitchen, there's no camera," he teased him.</p><p>In the end, Nigel couldn't hold his tongue for very long.</p><p>This had the positive effect of making Will smile at Nigel's humour, and the profiler pulled up his glasses to hide it. But the two Lecter had noticed it, and Hannibal had a little laugh in return. "Well, Nigel, I also like it when people don't swear at my table, you know," he said with a tilt of his head, not being entirely serious. It was more like he was caricatured himself, and it didn't escape Will's notice. So... Hannibal seemed to be playing a role, or at least he usually exaggerated himself ? Will sank into multiple, tangled questions.</p><p>"Fuck, yeah, I'll try not to say fuck every sentence," Nigel smiled back, letting Hannibal put the plate in front of him.</p><p>Will was interrupted in his thoughts by the other's vulgarity in front of Hannibal, surprised by the situation. His eyebrows rose on his forehead, but he smiled again. Will had a beautiful smile, Nigel thought, and that encouraged him.</p><p>"Will, if you want some advice, don't necessarily refrain from swearing in front of your psychiatrist, you know he's actually quite okay with some people doing that, and you're probably one of them." He pointed his fork at Will as he spoke, and Will raised an eyebrow at this direct declaration to him.</p><p>"I didn't think Hannibal could have a brother like you," Will admitted sincerely, and he relaxed a little. It was finally simple enough; Hannibal and Nigel had a strong presence. Normally, Hannibal was already occupying a lot of space. But here, as a duo, there was really no effort to make a conversation, they did very well without a third person. Will could only occasionally respond. Nigel seemed talkative.</p><p>For Will, it was hard to conceive, as he discovered the character of Nigel, that it could really be the twin of psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter. That vulgar tattoo on the neck, his rough manners, his swearing, his straightforwardness. All these elements opposed him to Hannibal, and yet there was a bond of chemistry flowing between them, a strong connection that Will saw forming in the room.</p><p>It opened up perspectives on Hannibal's personality and his past. This obviously left Will with too many questions in his head, a cloud of restless thoughts that interfered with his ability to see clearly. Not to mention his current unstable state and hallucinations. But fortunately the interactions of his two hosts kept interrupting his thoughts. Will knew he would need an incredible amount of time to sort through everything afterwards.</p><p>"Oh, and you haven't seen everything," Nigel proudly said.</p><p>Hannibal, in turn, had settled in, watching - observing - Nigel and Will interact. Nigel was teasing, but he understood that there were limits; he seemed to find the right balance to get Will out of his comfort zone and even more comfortable, without bumping into him and making him retreat. Hannibal was very pleased with that.</p><p>"With this, bon appétit," Hannibal said, playing his role as the polite and mannered brother. There was a part of him that was polite and mannersome, though not as much as he showed. </p><p>Will nodded. "Bon appétit, it looks delicious," he said spontaneously, feeling better.</p><p>"Yeah, enjoy it," Nigel said informally, consolidating his character as an unmannerly joker too. Like Hannibal, it was also part of a role. He could actually behave very well, if he wanted to. Hannibal and Nigel liked to fool others, so they often exaggerated.</p><p>They started their appetizers. "Hanni, it's delicious," his brother complimented him, turning to him with a small smile.</p><p>Will again seemed to be disconnected from his daydreaming by the nickname 'Hanni', and he looked up at Hannibal with a surprised look in his eyes, as if Hannibal was going to reprimand his brother. But there was only peace and tenderness on his face.</p><p>Normally Hannibal would not allow Nigel to give out affective nicknames in public. But this was Will, and they had to seduce him, in a way. Then they had concluded that there were certain things they could say.</p><p>"Thank you, my brother. "</p><p>"That's right," said Will, forcing himself to participate. "I mean, it's delicious," he corrected himself, wondering if he'd been understood the first time. Often, when he was formulating a sentence, the profiler couldn't help but repeat it in his head several times, and if it sounded wrong, he felt like he had to correct it. A defect of someone who thinks too much. He began to wonder whether he should not have kept quiet, and what audacity had led him to respond to two brothers who were complimenting each other with affectionate nicknames when he was only a guest and-</p><p>"Thank you, Will," Hannibal repeated in the direction of his patient, and his own smile was just as warm and acknowledging as the one he had given his twin. Will felt himself blushing slightly. He hoped he wouldn't fall into too strange behavior ; he felt that there was a lot to deal with and to feel. The warmth on his cheeks, it was as if he felt it in his belly as well - surprising, but pleasant. As if he could be accepted, not only with Hannibal, but with this strange brother. Something comfortable seemed to grab his viscera.</p><p>"Maybe you're asking yourself where my slight accent comes from," Nigel began, knowing full well that Will probably wasn't asking himself that question, but he wanted to start a topic. "I've spent the last 15 years in Romania, in Bucharest. " He was bragging a little bit.</p><p>Will integrated the information, trying to look the other man in the eye. Since they were almost the same eyes as Hannibal, it was easier than with a complete stranger. However, he began to search for the slight differences in their eyes, forgetting to answer for several seconds. He seemed to realize this, and came back down to earth bliking his eyes. He had forgotten what he had just said... Bucharest. "Hannibal traveled a lot too, didn't he? " He hadn't known how to react, so he had turned the question to the psychiatrist.</p><p>The meal went well. In the end, Will was more comfortable and focused; less scattered, he was beginning to understand how to relate to the twins, looking at them a lot when they interacted. They were fascinating, actually, and Will took some time to admire them. It could be easy to feel excluded, but still, whether it was Hannibal or Nigel, everyone had always made an effort to bring Will with them and include him in their particular bubble. Will came to a point where he clearly felt stuck in that bubble, he had absorbed their tenderness and comfort, and he could no longer really know exactly what was outside the room. His empathy had absorbed everything, drank everything. The wine hadn't helped clear his mind either. He had let himself gently flow into their warm, twinning world.</p><p>Will didn't witness any violence or horror. The twins were incredible actors in that regard.</p><p>"Will, will you have dessert again?" </p><p>"No, thank you," he replied with an easier-than-usual smile. </p><p>" After-dinner drink?" Nigel suggested. " Anyway, I'll have a smoke or two first." With that, he stood up, but waited for Will's answer.</p><p>"Yes, after-dinner drink with pleasure." Will loved alcohol and he made no secret of it. It may not have been the best time in his life to drink more than usual, but he figured nothing could happen to him in the Lecter house. They had a protective and powerful presence.</p><p>Hannibal considered his response, hesitating to give him more alcohol. Finally, he went to get a bottle of herbal alcohol and three small glasses. Will stood up to help him clean up.</p><p>At the front of the house, Nigel smoked while standing looking at the stars. The air was cool, and he shoved his head slightly between his shoulders to take advantage of the warmth of his jacket. He was thinking about Will - the man was handsome and seemed to have the potential that Hannibal had described, although it wasn't very noticeable during dinner. However, Will seemed unsettled at the moment, and according to Hannibal, he was hallucinating regularly. Nigel knew that Hannibal was keeping him in this state, and he wanted to have a talk with his brother about it. If the pair of twins wanted to lure this man between their claws, he had to be pretty sane, Nigel thought. He didn't want a broken and frightened lover.</p><p>When he returned to the house, Hannibal and Will had disappeared from the dining room, and Nigel found them in the living room. Will was sitting on the big sofa, and Hannibal had taken a seat in an armchair near the fireplace. Nigel looked at his brother - there was only room left on the sofa, and he didn't know if Hannibal would be okay with him getting that close to Will. The psychiatrist responded with a bright, trusting look, which meant that Nigel could and should go and sit next to the other man.</p><p>Nigel sat at a reasonable distance from the other man, but not on the other end of the couch either. Will seemed to tense in a reflex, and then he bent down to take the glass of green liquor from the low table. </p><p>"What is it?" Will asked, smelling the contents of the glass and looking at Hannibal. The smell instantly entered his sinuses, pungent.</p><p>"Chartreuse," replied the doctor, collecting his own glass as his brother imitated him. "A secret recipe for 40 herbs by French monks. »</p><p>Nigel slammed his tongue against his palate, to avoid laughing at his twin's bluster. "It's mostly very alcoholic," Nigel said, raising his glass, and then he drank it in one shot before dropping his back against the back of the couch.</p><p>Will smiled at this behavior, apparently relieved. With Hannibal, he felt obliged to always drink slowly and politely, even though he often wanted to empty his glasses in one go without ceremony. So it relaxed him to have a drinking partner, and he swallowed his own glass. The alcohol burned his throat and nose, and then went down his throat - the heat already in his belly extended to all his guts, and that familiar feeling was most agreeable. This, together with the warmth of the fire and the comfort provided by the two brothers, made Will feel ready to fall asleep.</p><p>"There's no way we' re going to let you drive like this," said Nigel.</p><p>"I've set up a guest room," Hannibal replied, naturally echoing his brother's speech.</p><p>Will raised an eyebrow and simply nodded his head. That was certainly much more prudent. The hard liquor was beginning to cloud his mind while making some sparks - unusual connections. He looked at the two brothers: the twins often gazed at each other, there was such a strong and unusual complicity between them. Their souls were really connected... Will could attribute this to the twinning, but there seemed to be something else going on. A murky element that he couldn't put his finger on, but he had sensed it from the first meeting with Nigel in the doctor's kitchen. Will rubbed his forehead. He was trying at the same time to curb his empathy so he wouldn't sink, but he wanted to keep it going so he could understand what was going on.</p><p>"Excuse me," he said suddenly, and got up to walk towards the living room door.</p><p>Hannibal and Nigel exchanged quick glances to communicate without words. Worry in their eyes. "Are you okay?" Hannibal asked cautiously.</p><p>"Yes, bathroom," Will replied somewhat confusedly, and he walked to the bathroom to lock himself in. Immediately, he opened the faucet and splashed some water on his face to breathe deeply. He was sweating a little and was afraid of an imminent seizure. He sat down on the toilet lid so the world could stabilize and then he disappeared into his own troubled and inflamed skull.</p><p>He spent several minutes with his eyes closed and his face pressed into his hands. He went back in time and relived every action between the two brothers to try to understand. The looks, the hands brushing against each other's bodies, the kisses on the cheeks, the strange warmth surrounding them, their bond that wove like a spider's web around Will, the unusual tension.</p><p>Will emerged, opened his eyes wide and straightened up. He had seen it. The twins were lovers.</p><p>He took a deep breath to ingest the news, surprised and troubled by it. It wasn't the immorality of the thing that disturbed Will the most; the barriers of morality for him were as porous as those of his mind: he was close to killers, let them into his soul, and slept with them in dreams.</p><p>What troubled him was everything else: that he had spent time with Hannibal for so long without seeing any of this, that he had spent the evening immersed peacefully in the atmosphere of the incestuous twins, that he had revel in it, and that he now had these persistent mental images of the two brothers making love and loving, respecting and glorifying each other.</p><p>The images were powerful; Nigel and Hannibal had to make love powerfully, it was obvious. He could see the tenderness of love mixed with savagery. He could feel it stuck to his skin. He'd been bathed in that world, and he knew his penis was slightly hardened now. He cursed himself; he didn't know if it was his own desires or if his empathy for the brothers made him feel what they felt for each other.</p><p>He heard gentle knocking at the door and jumped. </p><p>"Is everything all right, Will?" It was Hannibal. Usually his voice soothed the profiler's restless mind, but now it worried him. How long had he been in that bathroom? What was he to do now that he was completely invaded by the twins' intimate sphere? He had to get out of the dense yet clear fog into which he had plunged.</p><p>"Y-yes, I'm coming, it's the alcohol," he lied, and went back to rinse his face. He tried to think of other things, killers or his dogs. It only worked relatively.</p><p>"I can help you," suggested the doctor's voice, and the mental image that struck Will's mind was incorrect; he saw Hannibal helping him with the erection. Could Hannibal have guessed? No, Will was probably still creating scenarios within himself. Imagination too fertile. However, on the other side of the door, Hannibal had definitely smelled sexual arousal.</p><p>"My name is Will Graham," Will began whispering, looking in the mirror and keeping his hands under cold water. "My name is Will Graham, and I'm not a Lecter. I'm Will Graham. " He tried to convince himself of this, he repeated the words like a mantra, staring at himself.</p><p>"Will, open this door," Hannibal finally ordered, who heard his whispers. The psychiatrist was now really worried, maybe Will had gone too far into a dream world, and he had to catch him. In the hallway, Nigel wasn't far away and was looking at his brother.</p><p>After a few more seconds, Will opened the door, his hair tousled and a bit damp with sweat, his face wet with water. Hannibal scrutinized him, and he avoided looking down to see if there was an erection visible through Will's pants. He knew Will knew, though. Will had figured it out, and then he'd gotten lost in their world.</p><p>"I'm sorry," Will said without being able to look Hannibal in the face. He was sorry he'd seen through them, that he'd entered their intimacy.</p><p>Hannibal stepped forward cautiously, and he put a firm, reassuring hand on Will's shoulder, which jerked slightly. "It's all right, Will, I suspected you'd figure it out eventually, but I invited you anyway. »</p><p>Will considered the meaning behind the words, and he glanced confusedly at the doctor. He could feel Nigel's presence beside him, even though he couldn't see him from inside the bathroom. "You wanted me to know? "he asked in surprise. And he was addressing the two brothers this time.</p><p>Hannibal smiled confidently, as if the whole thing wasn't grave at all. "I supposed you are the only one who could understand us," he admitted softly, bowing his head slightly. Will could barely hold his gaze, yet he kept coming back to him. </p><p>The profiler felt small, with Hannibal's hand on him and all the confidence that the doctor radiated. Will had always been deeply impressed by the psychiatrist's assertiveness. He absorbed the speech that was offered to him, and finally nodded his head several times. Yes, he understood them. He accepted.</p><p>Hannibal removed his hand and shifted to let his patient and friend exit the bathroom. It was the first time he and his brother had ever exposed themselves to someone and been accepted, and it was an incredibly strong feeling. Hannibal couldn't have described it in words, but he knew it was close to the feeling one would get when discovering the 8th wonder of the world. He glanced at Nigel with a shining look of emotion, and Nigel smiled back at him. A profound joy ran through them on all sides, as well as a feeling of extreme peacefulness. </p><p>They walked into the living room, and Will followed them.</p><p>"Come on, don't be so tense," Nigel joked, turning to the officer, and he dared to give him a friendly nudge. "Don't make a big deal out of it, you know, there's even a lot of porn with twins, it's not that uncommon," he laughed slightly, and Hannibal gave him a slightly exasperated but amused look.</p><p>"Nigel, don't bother him with the details," The psychiatrist knew that Will had probably been struggling with mental images of him and his brother, so mentioning pornography may not have been the best way to get things back to a relaxed state.</p><p>But indeed some images, some films, came back into the profiler's mind, who blushed slightly, his breath breaking somewhere. He stopped in the middle of the living room, unable to clear the invaders from his head, and he knew that from the outside he must look completely lost. But the twins were so close to him, it was hard to separate from it. Alcohol was caressing his meninges. </p><p>Hannibal felt something warm flowing inside his abdomen, and when he met his brother's gaze, Nigel saw that his little brother had dilated pupils. Nigel didn't yet know how Will worked, but from what he understood now, it seemed that the so-called details had affected the third man. It was exciting to know this, and suddenly he felt a particularly palpable sexual tension in the room.</p><p>"Okay, okay, I'm going to bed," Will managed to stutter, but his voice was absent. As if some part of him had managed to formulate those words, when the rest of his head wasn't really there anymore. Like a robot, Will turned and tried to escape again, trying to remember where the stairs leading up to the second floor were.</p><p>Nigel gave his brother a questioning glance, as if to say, ‘What do you want us to do’ and Hannibal grinned slightly. For Hannibal, even though Will was slightly drunk, it was clear that he was not hallucinating, and that his mind was present enough for the profiler to be able to decide what to do next. The doctor waved his chin toward Will, meaning ‘Go ahead, Nigel, show us your seductive skills.’</p><p>Nigel's cock pulsed hard in his jeans at his brother's innuendo and what it implied. Before Will was too far away, the man from Bucharest followed him and grabbed his wrist to make him turn around without violence, staring at him with a predatory look who had just found a particularly appetizing prey.</p><p>Will took a deep breath at this, frozen in front of the other man. A heavy weight fell into his gut when he noticed the look on him. He knew he was excited, but he didn't know where it all came from anymore. However, Will was not a teenager, he was a mature and capable man, and he could very well embark on a sexual adventure with responsibility. The man in front of him obviously wanted him, and it was convenient for Will. He didn't have many opportunities to have physical intercourse in his life - either with men or women. And often his empathy made things terribly complicated. But here there was only a promise of relief; Nigel didn't seem to be demanding, he seemed to want to offer Will pleasure without mental implications.</p><p>Nigel stared at Will for several seconds, looking for an answer in his eyes, still holding his wrist. He knew Will understood his intentions. Finally, Will nodded his head with a barely perceptible movement, but it was enough. Nigel pushed the man against the wall, and he tasted the saline of his mouth.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Notes 1 to 2 : This scene and the related dialogues are taken from episode 5 of season 1.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Many thanks to krisBurie for the correction of this chapter, and especially for her encouragement.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hannibal had watched first. Because contemplation was one of his characteristics ; he could spend hours in front of an interesting painting, or listening to erudite music. The painting that Nigel and Will offered was magnificent, and Hannibal painstakingly inscribed each reproduction and detail in his mental palace. It was a scene he had dreamed of, and to see it realized made his soul flutter in lands of happiness. Of course, he was also sexually aroused, but Hannibal knew how to be particularly patient.</p><p>Nigel gave Will only little respite, and they made their way to Hannibal's room, stopping every meter to devour each other's mouths and take off one and two shirts, open up some pants, and incidentally take off a few socks.</p><p>Will felt his mind hazy and sharp at the same time - the alcohol, the twins, his excitement, Nigel's mouth and hands. It all blended into a boiling explosion inside each of his organs. He was aware of Hannibal's presence watching them, and this fact increased the pleasure of the situation. He hadn't really considered taking a detour like this with his psychiatrist. Of course Hannibal was attractive, but he was so far out of Will's reach that he had never considered any possibility.</p><p>Now he was hoping that he could kiss Hannibal too. The kisses with Nigel were feverish and wet, almost violent. Kissing him was like turning into lava. Will imagined that Hannibal kissed more softly, because Hannibal didn't seem so impulsive. </p><p>Nigel pushed Will's body down on the bed, but he didn't climb up on him as the profiler had expected. First, he turned to his brother who was standing in the doorway, and Nigel smiled with all his teeth, his mouth glistening with Will's saliva. Without hesitation, he walked towards Hannibal, and the kiss he gave him was deeply loving, Will could tell. Nigel had placed his cupped hands around his brother's face and then gently tasted his mouth-as if he was actually saying thank you-before they deepened their oral exchange.</p><p>It was confusing; their faces were so identical. Will stood up on his elbows and contemplated them. He had no judgment inside of him. The only thing he could really understand about it at that moment was just his desire. He wanted to melt into the beauty and love of the twins, to nourish himself with it, to forget the harsh reality of his own life to fade into their special and unique world. No matter how terrible the fall would be afterwards. Will was not afraid of falls; his life was one, interminable.</p><p>Soon, the brothers joined him on the bed, each of them placing themselves on one side of him. Will sat up more, and he wanted to laugh nervously at the situation. It was so unexpected. Maybe he was still on the toilet seat and dreaming, who knows.</p><p>Yet when he sensed Hannibal's fingers on his bare chest for the first time, it felt very real and terribly pleasant. Hannibal touched him as if Will was a precious treasure, and this feeling ran through Will in an exaggerated way. Hannibal usually didn't convey much to Will's empathy, he had always been more of a tranquilizer for the profiler, an appreciable silence surrounding him when he was at the psychiatrist's side. At this point, however, Hannibal no longer concealed what was behind his mask, and Will felt so strongly the devotion the doctor offered him. It made him tremble for a moment, from head to toe, and he looked up with wet eyes at Hannibal Lecter. Where did this veneration come from? Why had Will never seen it? He tried to put the questions out of his mind, seeing only Hannibal's face as he stared at and approached him.</p><p>The psychiatrist's lips were indeed of infinite softness. They rested on Will like a bee on pollen, with delicacy. If before, Will only understood the excitement with Nigel, now he was only sucked into Hannibal's world, and he felt paralyzed as swirls danced in his chest. Nigel and Hannibal complemented each other, and together they were undoubtedly the most perfect of lovers. Passionate and ardent.</p><p>Nigel watched them, without intervening, without depriving his brother of this rare moment. He was not jealous - he shared his brother's happiness, and Will was a treat he was happy to share.</p><p>Finally, Will responded to the kiss more vividly when he felt Hannibal's hand go down on his thigh over his pants. Nigel noticed the change and smiled with appetite, moving his hands forward to unbutton his brother's shirt.</p><p>They all undressed fairly quickly, as a sudden primal urge to be naked and skin to skin. The twins loved to be naked when they were together, because the feeling of their bodies embracing each other was primitive and incomparable. Will let himself be drawn into this peculiarity, and soon it became difficult to distinguish the bodies on the bed. A tight and sumptuous interweaving of limbs and hands that turned into expert caresses.</p><p>The heap of bodies on the bed began to produce breathy sounds, tiny moans and gasps. Will wasn't used to being touched by hands other than his own, and it could be said that the twins were experts at knowing exactly how to stroke a penis to give it strong pleasure without bringing it to orgasm immediately. In addition, the number of hands tended to increase sensation and promote loss of control.</p><p>So when one of the mouths - Hannibal's, to be more precise - suddenly took his penis in his mouth, Will saw stars explode behind his eyes and he fell back onto the mattress as burning waves ignited his hips and spread throughout his body.</p><p>Nigel had a gentle laugh at this, and ran his hands through Will's hair, whispering. "He's the best cock sucker in the world, who would have thought, hm? " teased Nigel, but Hannibal ignored the comment, and Will couldn't respond other than short, loud, brutal moans. His toes were turning white from being clenched, his eyelids firmly closed.</p><p>The cannibal's lips were forming a tight, moist circle around the profiler's cock, who didn't feel the teeth standing in the way. The psychiatrist kept a pace fast enough to enjoy the taste of Will's seminal fluid trickling down his tongue, but not too fast so that he could enjoy the feeling of the fellatio he was giving, and make Will savor it.</p><p>After a few short minutes, Will already felt the orgasm tickle between his hips and ready to pulverize his brain. Never before had any mouth gratified his penis in this way, never had anyone venerated his cock with so much passion and attention. Then Will put down a trembling hand to attempt to push on Hannibal's shoulder, trying to produce intelligible sounds between his pleasure noises. But Hannibal refused to leave and instead he sucked on Will's cock to bring him to orgasm.</p><p>Will twisted himself so hard and scratched the sheets and maybe Nigel's thighs that were over there, and his mouth opened silently, before he screamed out one of the most beautiful sounds Hannibal had ever heard. He would have wanted to film this whole scene from the outside, to record every sound of body and mouth. But right now he was busy swallowing every drop of Will's seed. In a way, he was eating part of Will's body, and for a cannibal, that was a most delicious idea.</p><p>Nigel was touching himself beside, enjoying the view in front of him, and he almost came on Will's belly when the man had a fucking orgasm that seemed unbelievable. He was of fresh beauty, naked and tense and sweaty on Hannibal's big bed. </p><p>Hannibal gently placed kisses on Will's thighs and let him recover as he and his brother kissed again. Hands were exchanged, and soon each penis was in the other twin's mouth.</p><p>This position gave the impression of almost perfect rotational symmetry. Each brother held the other's hips with his hands and with force, and their mouths performed perfect movements. Will admired them, completely misty, his eyelids heavy and vibrant. He could vaguely hear their orgasm, which seemed to occur at exactly the same second, and then Will felt the two brothers wrapping themselves around his naked body. </p><p>He slept through an almost dreamless and warm night, heavy with testosterone.</p><p>**</p><p>Hannibal heard Will sneak out of bed as soon as the sun came up. He said nothing and simply pretended to be asleep and let the other man go. Hannibal didn't blame him - it wasn't that Will didn't take responsibility, but Will was someone who ran away from uncomfortable or embarrassing social situations, and waking up after a threesome with his psychiatrist and his twin brother was clearly one of them. Maybe Will would leave a note in the kitchen as a courtesy.</p><p>Hannibal reminisced about last night, and the movie played with increased precision in his head. He took the opportunity to consolidate these memories in his mind palace, smiling contentedly, lulled by the smell of his brother and the smell of Will that remained on the pillow, evanescent.</p><p>They hadn't had penetrative sex - Will wasn't a  one-night stand that needed to be consummated quickly. They had time ahead of them to do things properly and deliciously. And then, sodomy was laborious sometimes, especially with strangers, and with three people it made the imaginable scenarios more complex.</p><p>Hannibal finally went back to sleep. He didn't work the next day, and they took the opportunity with Nigel to recover from that late and eventful night.</p><p>**</p><p>The next day, Hannibal had an appointment at the office with Will. This was the last slot of the day, so that they had time to continue the session beyond the conventional time, or even share a nice glass of wine. Hannibal wasn't sure if Will would show up for the appointment; but Will wasn't rude, if he wanted to cancel for any reason he would let Hannibal know. However, Hannibal had not received any messages or calls containing this type of information. This was encouraging.</p><p>Finally, he greeted his penultimate patient, then opened the door to his office, and his eyes fell on a Will sitting in the waiting room dressed better than usual. The psychopath's heart warmed at the sight, and he gave his first sincere smile of the day.</p><p>"Good evening, Will," the doctor greeted him as the patient stood up and greeted him back. However, Will's eyes had not once crossed Hannibal's eyes. Perhaps a step backwards, after what had happened. But Hannibal wasn't overly concerned about this; he had to wait for other signs to conclude.</p><p>The psychiatrist closed the door of his office, turning to the younger man, who had not gone to sit down but had approached the window with his back to the doctor. It was easier to talk blindly. Hannibal waited a little while to see if Will was going to speak first, but nothing came. The other man simply had his hands in his pockets and stared at the street outside through the white veil of the huge window. He didn't seem any more tense than usual, though. But perhaps not as relaxed as in their last meeting.</p><p>Hannibal approached cautiously and stopped some distance away from Will.</p><p>"Have you been sleepwalking again, Will?" addressed the psychiatrist, to return to a motive for consultation.</p><p>Will wrinkled his nose and shrugged his shoulders. "Are we going to pretend and play a normal doctor-patient session?" asked Will, and Hannibal perceived a dryness in tone.</p><p>For once, Hannibal was not completely confident. He worried that maybe Will had been mulling things over so much that he had finally rejected the great night they had shared together. </p><p>"You decide how the session goes, Will."</p><p>"And why do we use 'vous" anyway?" This time, the profiler turned his head slightly towards the doctor and crossed his eyes for a moment. Then he was gone again. Will seemed to challenge him, and Hannibal knew he had to be even more careful than usual.</p><p>"Using 'Tu' does not bother me. I think it is even appropriate to do so, considering the recent events." Hannibal kept a calm tone, watching every micromovement in Will's body, every tiny reaction that would help him analyze what was going on inside the other man. "Do you want to talk about this event, Will?" <br/>Hannibal finally asked, a little more warmly, to establish a bond of trust and closeness.</p><p>Will sighed, and that was the first real spontaneous reaction since he had arrived. "I don't know what to say, it's all changing our relationship and I don't know where I stand on it, I don't know if we can continue to have these sessions. We've clearly gone beyond the patient-physician relationship, hm?" Will had a little laugh, and his shoulders relaxed a bit.</p><p>Hannibal smiled slightly, and stepped towards the profiler, cautiously. "Indeed. However, our sessions were never conventional," admits Lecter, with positive attitude. "I don't see any inconvenience in pursuing this path."</p><p>Will gave him a new look, his eyebrows frowning, and he looked into the doctor's eyes for a clue about the meaning of the sentence. "Which path? The path of therapy or the one that concerns... the last time." Will had been unsure of the term to use for what had happened, and Hannibal wondered what other words he had considered.</p><p>"You are free to choose," the doctor told him, to give Will a feeling of free will. However, he wanted to guide him towards a certain decision, so he added: "But if you ask me, it was very pleasant, for Nigel as well as for me," he purposely mentioned his brother. "And we'd both be happy to invite you to dinner again."</p><p>There was a suspension in time - Will didn't move, and Hannibal knew that he was struggling with unfinished thoughts, a complex mess that encephalitis didn't help. Hannibal, on the other hand, was almost holding his breath, in expectation. He wanted to put a hand on Will's shoulder to subtly coerce him to go his way, but the gesture could scare the other man away. Will was not so easily manipulable.</p><p>After long seconds, Will shook his head. "I don't think this is a good idea. I..." he paused, and raised his hand to rub his temples. "I'm unstable, I'm hallucinating, I'm having a hard time... balancing things out, in terms of... killers. " He sighed again, then straightened his head. "This is not the time for me to get into something as complicated as relations with... my psychiatrist and his brother." Finding the right term had again proven difficult.</p><p>Hannibal was tempted to growl with discontent, but he didn't move. He had already expected this possibility. But he was patient, so he comforted himself with the good points: Will had enjoyed it, it had always been clear, and the only barriers that kept him from continuing were internal to the profiler's condition. A condition that Hannibal deliberately maintained. The psychiatrist was already thinking about future plans, but he left them aside to respond.</p><p>"It's entirely understandable." He reassured Will, and finally put his hand on the profiler's shoulder. Will had already escaped him a little, so he could now try to bring him closer. "Regrettable, but understandable," the doctor added. Will had tensed up a little under the touch, but it seemed that his breath changed slightly in rhythm. He was obviously sensitive to the touch. "I'll continue to be your confidant, if you'll let me." Then the doctor removed his hand, freeing Will from the slight restriction.</p><p>Will nodded his head.</p><p>**</p><p>"I'm surprised that you tolerate your brother's crude language," Will said at one point in the session. They had settled into the leather chairs facing each other in the center of the room. The atmosphere had returned to normal once they had clarified their present and future intentions.</p><p>"The greatest impoliteness is in actions, not words." Hannibal looked at Will, and every smile he made at him revealed a warmth that Will had never really perceived before. "One can be verbally vulgar and yet have an extremely polite heart."</p><p>Will considered the answer. "Yes, but… Nigel seems so far away from the image you give."</p><p>Hannibal refrained from frowning, or moving his legs to straighten them, which would betray the effect of these words on him. If Will thought he had an image, then he thought there were other things behind the appearance. However, that was the case for most people. But Hannibal was very interested in the subject. "What image do you think I'm giving?"</p><p>Will stared at him for a few seconds, seemingly looking for the answer. "An extremely polite, tidy, and always welcoming and helpful psychiatrist." Will frowned a little, and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. Hannibal was waiting impatiently for the rest. "But I discovered other things when I was here the other day, so yes, there is another man hiding under that too-smooth image. Unfortunately, you're harder to see than most people, so I haven't figured out everything about you yet."</p><p>Hannibal had a discreet but proud smile. Will was beginning to discover him, unwrapping him like a present surrounded by too many layers of paper. Still, it was necessary to be extremely careful - if Will saw too much, and too quickly, Hannibal could end up in jail in the blink of an eye. Subtly revealing himself was the plan, to offer the layers to be peeled off only parsimoniously. "I'm a doctor, I'm used to being neutral so that I can be a mirror for my patients."</p><p>Will shrugged his shoulders. "That's not the only reason..." He squeezed his lips lightly and stared at his doctor. " Considering your relationship with your brother, you must have learned to hide secrets."</p><p>Hannibal nodded his head. If this was the explanation Will wanted for Hannibal's reasons for living undercover, it was more than adequate for the psychiatrist at this time.</p><p>"Nigel and I are cautious to preserve what adorns our lives with fragile beauty. "</p><p>The sentence made Will think for a few seconds, time suspended above them. "You consider me fragile too, this porcelain cup ready to break..." The empath leaned against the seat, and the leather squeaked subtly. "I'm not so fragile that I can't take responsibility for what happened, I don't want to give that impression, maybe it's too much to deal with right now, but... I'm taking responsibility and I will surely be ready to do it again one day. "</p><p>The avowal made Hannibal smile with all his teeth.</p><p>**</p><p>Nigel was at the substitution phase. It wasn't as good as heroin; it was like drinking bad wine when you were addicted to champagne. It was like being satisfied with a barely decent prostitute when you were dating a beautiful and loving woman. But he was hanging in there - for Hannibal and for himself. </p><p>The boredom of some days threatened to make him return to drugs, but he tried to keep his mind busy. In Baltimore, he couldn't go out the way he wanted, to avoid being recognized and confused with his brother. He didn't accompany his brother to the opera or any of his elite social outings. They preferred to keep their independence and not to combine all the elements of their lives. This could be dangerous.</p><p>Sometimes he drove for long periods in the car he had recently bought for himself, to go to the countryside, to walk, cycle or fish. He liked to activate his body and muscles, to feel the fresh air. But he missed his life in Bucharest - he missed the adrenaline, the traffic, his network, his power recognized by others, and the weight of his revolver in his hand. </p><p>Hannibal had told him how Will lived: an isolated house, the greenery and the horizon as a companion, dogs and the fishing. Nigel wanted to visit, he imagined himself playing with the dogs in the afternoon, Hannibal drawing in a corner, and Will playing and smiling with him.</p><p>Nigel was preparing dinner for him and Hannibal. For once, he had been downstairs in the basement and was cooking an organ of human origin. He wasn't really looking for the reasons for his gesture, but they were somewhere in the distraction, in a need for a change of routine, in a desire for the forbidden.</p><p>At the appointed time, his twin brother entered the house, undressing in the hall and putting away his shoes. When Nigel saw him appear at the kitchen door, he turned to him with a smile. With his face raised slightly to smell the air, Hannibal quickly understood the origin of the meat in the pan. It was a novelty.</p><p>"What's going on? "asked the doctor, slowly approaching Nigel and putting a kiss on his lips with pleasure and gratitude. "A gift?"</p><p>Nigel shrugged his shoulders and laughed softly. He liked to give pleasure to his twin. "Nothing special, I was bored, I thought... why not?"</p><p>Hannibal considered the answer, and seemed to see further into Nigel's words. "Maybe you need to come kill with me, don't you think? " On The Chesapeake Ripper, a strange smile appeared as he raised his fingers to put a lock of Nigel's hair back behind his ear. His older brother should not be bored; the consequences could be disastrous and spoil all their efforts.</p><p>The Bucharest bandit's pupils darkened. It had been years since he had killed with Hannibal. He did not specifically miss killing in itself; killing had always been more a means than an end. But he missed the violence and the adrenaline terribly. The palpitations, the power, the cries of the victim. "Of course. "</p><p>**</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>* The original fiction is in French. In French, to express to someone we don't know, or formally, we use 'vous', and to express to friends and family, to those we know, we use 'tu'. In English, the translation is the same : 'you'. But until now, Will has used 'vous' with Hannibal and Nigel. Nigel has used 'tu' from the beginning with Will, and Hannibal has always used 'vous', except during dinner (this asymmetry may show that only Will kept a certain distance, while Hannibal included him in something closer). However, during this session, he is using 'vous' and so Will answers this sentence. After that, Hannibal and Will will always use "tu", which shows a new step in their relationship.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here is the translation of the chapter 4!<br/>No beta-reading, if there is anything wrong with the translation, feel free to tell me.</p><p>I took a long time to post the chapter, so to apologize it will be long, and with sex :D</p><p>Your kudos and comments are my greatest gratification.</p><p>Love &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hannibal had invited Tobias Budge to dinner. Budge was undoubtedly a killer, and he had created a beautiful picture by turning a man into a violin. Franklin, Hannibal's patient, told him that Tobias had confided that he wanted to slit a man's throat and play on his vocal cords. The pieces were sticking together. Tobias was a psychopath, a nascent killer. A perfect victim for Nigel and Hannibal; nip him in the bud. A murder worthy of them, another killer to eliminate, a rude and unwelcome competitor.</p><p>Nigel stood backstage while Hannibal dined with Tobias. The violin maker confessed he wanted to kill the agents who would come to his house, Franklin, and even Hannibal - unashamedly he looked him in the eye and revealed his pasted intentions. But Tobias had then given up, when he discovered the Ripper's identity one night while following him. Hannibal froze for a fraction of a second when he learned this. Tobias was a threat, and they were going to have to deal with him as quickly as possible, before he could open his cursed mouth and denounce him.</p><p>When Tobias, standing next to the doctor, confessed to him that he was looking for a friend, Hannibal declined the offer. He didn't need Tobias. He had Nigel, brother and companion, and he was about to obtain Will. Tobias was just an obstacle in his own path, and Hannibal stared at him straight in the face and told him that he was going to kill him.</p><p>Nigel had been listening to the discussion, standing in the kitchen, perfectly silent. He chose this moment to appear in the dark dining room, quietly; a demon in the service of the devil. Tobias turned his head quickly, and the sight of a double of The Ripper shook him from inside. He opened his eyelids slightly, then looked at Hannibal again. He hid his fear terribly well.</p><p>"Unfair fight," Tobias announced.</p><p>Nigel and Hannibal smiled together, almost identical teeth revealing a threat.</p><p>"We'll fight fair," Hannibal replied, and he took a step away. "One of us will kill you, and the other will honor your body. That's a guarantee."</p><p>Tobias took a discreet breath, and his eyes scrutinized every detail, ready for an assault.</p><p>"You don't want to kill me in your house," he said, "you might get noticed." A way to protect himself, to make sure he's safe for tonight. He was just a rabbit in front of the headlights of a hurtling car, and he knew it.</p><p>"Indeed," Hannibal said courteously. "Let's make an appointment," he suggested afterwards.</p><p>"I could report you to the police," Tobias tried.</p><p>"What's the point? They have nothing against me, while we already have testimony and evidence against you. Your friend Franklin, for example. You would condemn yourself."</p><p>Tobias was not such an experienced killer as Hannibal or Nigel, even though he tried to appear neutral. Hannibal knew very well that Tobias had not told anyone about the dinner at his home, because Tobias had come with the plan to ask for the Ripper's friendship and partnership. He wouldn't have risked anything that might jeopardize this project. The Lecter were manipulating him; they were going to kill him tonight, no matter the means.Tobias was a problem, and the Lecter brothers never let problems get in their way. Their blood was simmering with the desire to steal a life, and their prey was standing right in front of them right now. There was no escape.</p><p>Tobias felt this deep in him. So he made the big mistake of pulling out the weapon he had taken with him: a particularly sharp steel wire, weighted on both ends, which he unfolded and began to spin around him like a threat. The movement caused a glass of wine to break on the ground.</p><p>Nigel sneered in his corner, and it was a mockery. "What a fucking idiot," he scolded humorously, speaking for the first time. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as the prospect of combat was becoming a reality. He thought the other one was ridiculous for thinking he was a fucking ninja in a suit.</p><p>Hannibal didn't move, staring at Tobias and predicting his future moves. Tobias approached him, and Hannibal dodged him gracefully, pushing a chair in front of the rope maker. Tobias nearly tripped and then climbed over the piece of furniture, pushing Hannibal back towards his brother to avoid the threat of the wire spinning in a menacing noise.</p><p>The doctor then raised his arm forward, and the string wrapped around his flesh through his shirt, cutting the skin. The burning pain pierced his skull, but barely more than half a second. By giving the skin of his forearm to the sacrifice of the wire, he was able to bring Budge close to him and deprive him of his weapon, which was thus trapped in the doctor's flesh. Tobias took the opportunity to try to hit Hannibal, and so they began to hit each other in a ballet that made dishes fall to the floor again.</p><p>Nigel was watching closely, his face wrinkling unpleasantly when his brother was injured. It didn't matter that Hannibal had said that only one would kill him; it was a lie, they were going to kill him together. Nigel could have pulled out his gun and put some bullets in the bastard's chest, but that would have been too quick and it would have stained his brother's furniture.</p><p>The twin bandit finally jumped into the fight, wrapping his arm around Tobias' throat from behind, holding him in a tight grip; an iron vise. The victim's breathing stopped, and Hannibal punched his stomach with such force that the guest had to drop his weapon.</p><p>Hannibal's hair was tousled, his lip was bleeding, and predatory appearances distorted his facial features; a truly sexy image by Nigel's standards. The psychiatrist removed the murderous rope from his arm and gave Tobias a dark look. "We owe no loyalty to someone like you," he articulated, passing the back of his hand over his mouth. The messy devil.</p><p>Nigel smiled proudly, ignoring the other one who was struggling against him, staring at his double. The adrenaline in his body, in his heart, the joy of sharing these rare and precious, forbidden moments with Hannibal, a victim against him whom they were about to end; all of this filled Nigel, and he almost had an erection against the ass of the bastard who had dared to threaten and hurt his little brother.</p><p>"Do we take him down to the basement?"</p><p>"Of course," Hannibal replied, and his eyes gave a complicit look, soft and excited at the same time, right into Nigel's eyes.</p><p>**</p><p>Tobias was lying on the doctor's iron table, and he was probably thinking of the irony of the situation; he had a similar room at home, but now he found himself in the position of a victim. However, he could not verbalize his thoughts; his tongue had been ripped out, so that he would never reveal the secrets of the brothers.</p><p>Hannibal, as the Chesapeake Ripper, took pleasure in inserting tools into the bodies. However, this was not a performance here, so he satisfied himself with the minimum. He used a knife mainly, piercing holes in Tobias' future corpse in various places, watching him suffer. Nigel stood next to him; he did not share his taste for excessive torture, but he knew how to value it. Above all, he shared his brother's happiness; their emotions and feelings were constantly being reflected in each other.</p><p>Hannibal gave Nigel the pleasure of the coup de grâce.</p><p>They didn't even have to get rid of Tobias' vehicle; he had come by cab. Regarding finding the driver... it was only an insignificant detail, the F.B.I. would not make a big investigation to find a killer's murderer. Then there were enough cab drivers in the city, most of them jaded and no longer paying attention to the passengers they were taking from one place to another; now all the passengers were glued to their cell phones, so the drivers had gotten used to simply not knowing who they were carrying.</p><p>**</p><p>"Why do you still want to make him the suspect, after what the three of us have done?" asked Nigel, sitting at the back of Hannibal's house while he smoked. His brother was next to him, with a secateurs in hand, pruning some rosebushes.</p><p>"Well, my reasons haven't changed," replied the youngest, looking back at Nigel. He had already explained the plan; to make Will take the blame for his own murders, not to be arrested himself (themselves), to make Will doubt and explore his darkest facets. Then he would get him out of jail. Of course, he had been thinking about alternatives, since they had engaged in sexual acts in his home a few days earlier. But none seemed better than another.</p><p>"How are we supposed to fuck him with this plan, hm?" Nigel raised his eyebrows. They had already discussed this, but he hoped Hannibal would come up with a more positive solution. The idea of locking Will up in jail with encephalitis seemed particularly cruel to him. Hannibal was the worst monster he knew.</p><p>Hannibal sighed, and continued trimming his hedge. "You know I'm thinking of a suitable alternative."</p><p>Nigel smashed his cigarette and got up from his chair, approaching his twin brother. He then spoke Lithuanian, in case a neighbor was at the window and a little too curious. "Damn it, Hannibal, you're only looking for what's right for you. Will is innocent, how can you just lock up an innocent man? Even more one that you value that much?"<br/>
Nigel sighed heavily, closing his eyelids for a second. He knew his brother; he knew the answers to these questions. Hannibal was like that. Nigel didn't really expect answers, he just expressed his thoughts aloud, conveying his displeasure. "I don't want to let you do this, Hanni, you have to find something better."</p><p>The psychiatrist slightly darkened his gaze, whose eyes rolled in a corner to scrutinize his brother with threatening curiosity. "How could you stop me if I decided to follow this plan?"</p><p>Nigel grunted and thought. Anything he could do would endanger his brother and his freedom. He refused to see Hannibal locked up; he would kill every damn cop who stood between Hannibal and himself.</p><p>"I can't do anything, you know that." This time he raised his voice a little, frustrated and angry. "But that's not a reason to let you do it without trying to convince you to change your mind. No one suspects you, and we like Will, the only thing that stands between him and us is his illness, which you maintain."</p><p>Hannibal took an breath. "We're going round and round in circles, Nigel. I can't stop thinking about taking advantage of his instability to make him explore the darker sides that will bring him closer to us. We just have to be patient."</p><p>"You're a goddamn stubborn head." The bandit lit a cigarette again, and took a deep, noisy puff. At least Hannibal admitted that he was stuck with his idea. "I still think it's a fucking risky plan. What if you can't get him out of jail? What if he finds out who you are and starts hating you? What if he goes really crazy and we can't get him back?"</p><p>Hannibal had a little smile on his face. "I'm looking forward to these challenges."</p><p>**</p><p>Corpses were piled up on the beach, a totem pole erected to the sky, a weave of severed limbs. Even Will or the FBI had never seen anything like it. Dozens of bodies dismembered and assembled as an offering to an obscure god. When Will slept - rarely, sometimes during the day, sometimes at night - he could see again the morbid and sometimes moving heap, a monster made of dry and pestilential flesh.</p><p>And then, in one of his usual nightmares, which his inflamed brain gave him without respite, he saw the twin faces of the Lecter in the middle of the tower. They belonged only to their trunk; one trunk for two heads watching him. The beach was still the same as in reality, the same weather all around. But the eyes of the brothers were staring at him with a particular intensity, a lively brilliance, a curiosity and a keen interest. The rest of their faces seemed dead, pale and already bluish. There were only mischievous eyes, the same eyes that had loved him that night.</p><p>Will awoke with a jump and a scream. His sweat-soaked shirt stuck to his skin, and he pulled it over his arms, short of breath. As if it wasn't enough to be haunted by the corpses of his work, the profiler's mind was overwhelmed with the thought of the strange twins. At the same time, his body shuddered with horror and his penis pulsed with desire. In the middle of this dark period of his life, right in the midst of his encephalitis, his doctor and his twin brother had revived his body and awakened his sexuality.</p><p>"Fuck," Will swore, and those simple words reminded him of the swear words of elder Lecter. The warmth that emanated from Nigel, even when he used raw words.</p><p>Will had to get up and drag himself to his bathroom. The dogs watched him pass by with little interest. He rushed into the shower, but the running water never managed to calm his desire. Eventually, it cleaned the sperm that spurted on the floor after a few minutes.</p><p>**</p><p>Of the two brothers, Hannibal was clearly the more obsessive about control. He wove crazy schemes, and Nigel could often do nothing about it, because Hannibal would become terribly bad if someone hindered his rigid work. Nigel had accommodated this over time, after countless disputes as a child, and was now accepting to let his brother take the helm most of the time. At least to have peace. Still, he knew it was a shit idea, this plan to make Will look like the Chesapeake Ripper.</p><p>There was almost nothing that could change Hannibal's mind if he had an idea in mind, almost nobody. But Nigel had already succeeded, and this challenge kept him entertained enough that he wanted to hold on to it longer than necessary.</p><p>By the time Hannibal usually finished his last appointment, Nigel was in the waiting room, ready for a surprise visit to the office of the city's most handsome psychiatrist. He didn't know if Will Graham would be there; he always went on the last appointment, but not every day. Nigel was hoping for it, deep down inside. He hadn't yet had a chance to see Will's face again, that closed and terribly beautiful face, those eyes that had been staring at him while they were naked.</p><p>The door opened and Hannibal spotted his twin. He made no comment, but greeted his last patient - who unfortunately was not Will- coming out of the office. The woman had a startle when she saw Nigel, and her eyes widened in confusion. Then, as a courtesy, she quickly escaped after a clumsy goodbye.</p><p>When the door to the outside was closed for good, Hannibal crossed his arms to show his displeasure and turned to his elder brother. "What are you doing here," he almost argued with his brother.</p><p>"It's okay, don't be a fucking pain in the ass, she's just a patient, what does she care if you have a twin or not?"</p><p>Hannibal sighed, resigning himself. "It's simply that I like that we respect the rules, which we set together."</p><p>Nigel stood up and shrugged his shoulders, approaching his brother who was still standing against the door separating the office from the waiting room. The bandit leaned over to Hannibal's face and whispered warmly, "Maybe I was hoping to find both you and Will."</p><p>Hannibal squeezed his own lips, and put one hand on his brother's chest to push him into the office as he closed the door faster than with any patient. "It wasn't planned, it would have annoyed me," Hannibal snorted, but he was half feigning his displeasure.</p><p>"No kidding," Nigel said humorously, pacing around the office and snooping around. He hadn't been in this room for years, and not much had changed.He glanced at the desk, and had a vivid memory of finding himself with his belly pressed against the expensive wood, Hannibal behind him, doing unethical things.</p><p>"Nigel, why are you here? "Hannibal asked clearly, observing his brother as a scientist would examine the behavior of laboratory rats, trying to understand the reasons behind the actions. "Are you bored?" he asked.</p><p>The question was clear, and regularly worried the psychiatrist. The boredom of his twin could mean unexpected and dangerous things. It had already led Hannibal to involve his brother in a shared murder.</p><p>Nigel glanced at Hannibal, and an idea sprang into his mind. He knew that his brother was concerned about his condition, but it was becoming more and more obvious. All Nigel had to do was use this as a weapon to defend his own camp.</p><p>Hannibal was not the only deceitful manipulator of the siblings.</p><p>"Yeah."

</p>
<p>"I'm not really around these days," Hannibal said softly, and it sounded like an unspoken apology. Nigel heard Hannibal move to a spot in the room, then the characteristic tinkling of the glass echoed, as did the sound of air from a cork leaving the neck of a bottle. "I can lighten my schedule so we can spend more time together."</p><p>"Hanni," sighed the man from Romania as he turned towards the doctor. "I've spent almost a lifetime without you, you think I'm going to come and ask for you now?"</p><p>Something seemed to veil the psychiatrist's face one second, and then it was gone the next. In reality, this thing had also bitten his heart. Hannibal raised his look to stare at his brother, the bottle in one hand, a glass in the other. "You lack distraction here." There were unspoken things they both understood; distraction was necessary for both of them. Distraction of violence, distraction of a consciously woven social network, distraction of various occupations, and the power felt. They had each created a world for themselves that allowed them to satisfy most of their particular needs, and Nigel was outside of his own world. "You want to go back?"</p><p>Nigel examined his brother's expression, and his own heart was moved in return. He glanced at the curtains to see if they were closed, and then approached his younger brother without hesitation. In a direct and possessive way, he pulled his little brother in his arms and hugged him with warmth and precious complicity. "I don't want to," he muttered in Hannibal's collar. "I don't really miss Bucharest, I'm getting old, I want to enjoy you."</p><p>They lined up their faces to stare at each others, and the emotion that passed through them was so intense that it became indescribable. Something between unconditional love, mutual respect, and carnal passion. Hannibal was happy and grateful for these words. However, instead of giving them back to the sender, he responded in the most sincere way he could. By action. By a desperate, passionate, wet and noisy kiss. Their intimate exchange lasted, in the heart of a deep tenderness, until they parted and smiled at each other, forehead to forehead.</p><p>Hannibal didn't ask what exactly Nigel was missing, because he could guess it effortlessly. What was needed was to recreate the entertainment and associated sensations, here with his twin. Now that the heroin withdrawal was over, they were going to be able to work on that. They couldn't wait.</p><p>But Nigel had something else in mind.</p><p>"That Will was a very satisfying distraction." The use of the past tense was voluntary; it was over now.</p><p>Hannibal raised his eyebrows and then stepped back to serve the glass he was still holding and hand it to his twin brother. "I can't just force him to come back in our bedroom," said the psychiatrist, to absolve himself of responsibility for the fact that Nigel no longer had any distractions with Will.</p><p>"No, of course not." Nigel stepped back to put his butt on the desk."But you can avoid losing him." His tone was determined. Of course, he mentioned Hannibal's plan to lock Will in jail.</p><p>Hannibal's pupils seemed to shoot Nigel for a moment. "And now you're going to tell me that nothing else can distract you?" His voice was a little sharp.</p><p>"Oh, there are other things, but that would involve doing things that you wouldn't really appreciate, and you know damn well that." It sounded like blackmail now. But it wasn't really; Nigel needed adrenaline, just like Hannibal. Hannibal could understand that perfectly well.</p><p>The doctor blew with irritation, and then he resigned himself and raised his eyes to the sky. "Your ways are no less devious than mine, no matter what you say."</p><p>Nigel had a small laugh, which ended in a provocative smirk. "You like my vicious ways."</p><p>Hannibal stared for a second, then took a sip of his glass and put it all back on the desk in a decided manner. Then he articulated in a particularly warm voice: "Our perversity is our greatest commonality." These words changed the mood of the room instantly.</p><p>"Fuck, Hanni," Nigel growled as he opened his belt and lowered his pants to his hips.</p><p>**</p><p>Ironically, Nigel found himself in exactly the same position as last time. Or maybe he had deliberately guided it all to end up with his stomach stuck by the edge of the desk, Hannibal's twin cock snugly lodged inside his ass.</p><p>Either way, it had been terribly delicious and exciting, to repeat this in that big office, where so much anonymous speech remained locked up, that office where Hannibal Lecter was having fun manipulating souls. An intimate room, actually. But also a professional room, where the prohibition of sexual acts, especially their own -a source of repulsion for the rest of society-, made the embrace more exclusive.</p><p>Not only had Hannibal vigorously fucked his ass, but he had martyred his back with his goddamn fingernails, and Nigel hissed in pain as he stood up. His flesh was throbbing in various spots, and it hadn't been that bad for a few days. But he knew he had been punished for his manipulative behavior. He accepted the punishment; no, he opened his arms to it and cherished it.</p><p>Hannibal handed him a box of tissues. Nigel painfully wiped the cum dripping down his thigh. His own dick was still hard.</p><p>"You're bleeding," Hannibal whispered as he dabbed a tissue on the scratchy, beading skin on his twin's back.</p><p>"Lick," Nigel ordered firmly.</p><p>The psychiatrist's pupils dilated in response to this order, and he obeyed. His tongue pointed between his tempting lips and he moved up the wounds, tasting blood identical to his own. He pressed Nigel's perfectly muscular ass with one hand at the same time.</p><p>"You're going to stop this bullshit," Nigel continued, and he turned to face his brother. "You're not going to put Will in jail, because we're going to enjoy him and his damn mouth," he warned, using harsh words to excite them, pressing his wet erection against Hannibal's hip. "Just like I'm going to do with yours."</p><p>With these words, the bandit forced his thumbs into the cannibal's mouth and squeezed his cheeks. Hannibal found this behavior delicious, and a boiling fountain flowed again into his organs. Nigel was the only one who could submit him like this, with whom the Ripper could release all control. He agreed that Nigel could guide him, he agreed to release the control for a while.</p><p>He agreed to kneel down and welcome the thick erection of the Bucharest bandit, to let it slip between his jaws after the fingers had left him.</p><p>Hannibal sucked him more deliciously than any sex worker.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Just to clarify what's happening, even though the story is based on season 1 and follows the majority of the events, in my story the finding of Will's encephalitis takes place before it is actually found in the show. That's why in this story Will's condition deteriorates at a moment prior to the time of the show.</p><p>No beta-reading, if there is anything wrong with the translation, feel free to tell me !<br/>Your kudos and comments are my greatest gratification.<br/>Love &lt;3</p><p>**</p><p>Will lived in a swamp that was getting thicker. Between his short nights punctuated by nightmares, his hallucinations, and real crimes, it seemed as if his life had turned into a pile of corpses and blood, where reality blended relentlessly with fantasies.</p><p>One day he had seen himself kill Nick Boyle, and then he had seen Abigail. He had then understood; he had really seen. Abigail had killed Nick Boyle.</p><p>In the midst of all these uncertainties, all his waking dreams, this certainty kept him conscious and awake all the way to Hannibal's office. Whatever happened between him and the Lecter brothers, Will ran to Hannibal instinctively when things became unstable. Whether he was aware of it or not, Hannibal was gradually becoming his beacon in the fog.</p><p>Will hadn't even bothered to warn, he'd barged into the psychiatrist's office to drop the information.</p><p>1"Abigail killed Nick Boyle."</p><p>"Yes, I know."</p><p>"Tell me why you know."</p><p>" I helped her dispose the body." Hannibal had simply responded with the truth, without shame, a kind of revealing.</p><p>Then, after a few troubling words, Hannibal finally justified the act: Nick had assaulted them, and Hannibal had helped Abigail to protect her, to keep her free. When Will got annoyed, Hannibal made a decisive move: "We are her fathers now. We have to serve her better than Garret Jacob Hobbs" It was another way for Hannibal to become more and more necessary and irreplaceable in Will's life.</p><p>"If you go to Jack, then you murder Abigail’s future."</p><p>Hannibal added when Will still hadn't responded.</p><p>Will stood mute, staring at the street through the window, and the blur in his head became a fire of questions, where answers and possibilities mingled.<br/>"Do I need to call my lawyer?"1 Hannibal now worried about Will's reaction. Plans could change from this element, and he had to be careful to always protect himself.</p><p>Finally, after silent seconds, Will turned to the doctor. In return, Hannibal raised his head to look at him, and a particular intensity passed through his eyes, a kind of familiarity, an invisible and silent bond. Will saw it, because he shook his head to answer no. He saw in the doctor's face that cement that helped him not to sink with every step, not to disappear. He saw the tenderness of a night shared recently, and the promise of a brighter future, with a shared fatherhood.</p><p>It was a lot to take in. Two potential lovers, and an adopted daughter. Will felt like letting out a nervous laugh because it all sounded so absurd.</p><p>Hannibal took a step toward him and his fingers rose in the air, and it felt so natural when he touched the profiler's cheek that the profiler didn't flinch. Will couldn't take his eyes off the doctor's, because amidst the screaming mess in his head, the only thing that seemed calm and quiet was Hannibal's gaze. It was as restful as looking at the ice floe for as far as the eye could see, where the very sounds seemed to be muffled in the snow.</p><p>Will wanted to prolong this cold calm that Hannibal regularly made him feel, he wanted to feel the ice penetrate his body then to propagate in his blood system. Thus, it was a kind of impulse motivated by this precise thought, which pushed him to give himself up, to break the reasonable distances which he tried to keep, to close his eyes and to press his mouth on the psychiatrist's.</p><p>In the invisibility of sentiments, something similar pinched both their hearts at the exact moment their mouths made contact. A force of attraction, deep and powerful.</p><p>Hannibal tightened his fingers against Will's cheek and pressed the kiss with a tenderness mixed with a kind of release, of loss. This was unusual; Hannibal was this incredible control freak. Only with Nigel did he allow himself to let go of everything. Yet he was completely spontaneous when he kissed Will, when he opened his lips to let Will's eager tongue enter his mouth to taste his own.</p><p>This lasted several seconds. A ballet of mingled tongues, saliva and deep sighs. Their hands clung to each other during the exchange, in a way that indicated they were thirsty for this contact. Will had previously mentioned his instability as a cause for not continuing on this path, but here he was destroying all of his resolutions as carelessly as crushing a piece of paper and tossing it into a wastebasket. He didn't give a damn anymore. Everything in his life was becoming unreal and completely insane, anyway. His brain was burning, literally, from the inside out. Only the memory of the Lecters and their passionate embrace seemed to be the most palpable and least crazy thing. It showed just how much of a disorder his life had become.</p><p>And Hannibal, who knew how to silence the chaotic overflow of his unmanageable empathy (Will had no explanation for this at the moment), was always there for him. His door always open for Will. His ears available, his good advice dispensed. Even his body had become a thing at hand, ready to offer tenderness and pleasure.</p><p>Will had simply followed the desire to lean and serve himself. Why resist all the good things the psychiatrist was offering him on a platter of gold and sapphires.</p><p> </p><p>It was Hannibal who broke the wet embrace, his breath short and his lips soaked with Will's saliva. Will immediately tried to take his mouth back, his hands tugging at his jacket or tie, but Hannibal stopped him by resting his forehead against his companion's.</p><p>The psychiatrist's fingers encircled Will Graham's face, as if trying to keep him in reality. Their eyes met and locked, having probably never been so close, and it almost made them squint; but most of all, Will's seemed to be filled with a certain desperation. This made the doctor smile, and this time the smile reached his eyes until his whole face seemed to light up. He hoped he could transmit that to Will as well.</p><p>"While my desire to continue with you is strong, Will, I want you with all your conscience." <br/>Since the three of them had been together, several days had passed, during which Will and Hannibal had seen each other several times, mostly in sessions at the office, and Will's condition had deteriorated greatly. The seizures associated with his encephalitis had become a daily occurrence, and his ability to discern reality, diminished.</p><p>Will grumbled in response with a sigh. "I wasn't fully conscious either, last time."</p><p>Hannibal had a small laugh. "It was the alcohol; you were responsible for your own drinking. And I think you're familiar with drinking. Here we're talking about mental instabilities, and I'm your psychiatrist. It's my responsibility." <br/>That was only part of the truth - as always with Hannibal Lecter, there was something unsaid behind every word. The unspoken part was that Hannibal wanted to reconsider his plans after that kiss and after his own reactions. Seeing that he was so infatuated, and weakened by Will, made him want to take back control of the situation.</p><p>He had no idea that he would soon be punished by this refusal to surrender.</p><p>Will growled a little louder and he let go of Hannibal, abruptly breaking contact, which left a sensation of cold on their bodies. His hands rubbed his forehead nervously, and he closed his eyes for a moment. "This was a bad idea." Through the words, Hannibal heard a pregnant pain.</p><p>Manifestly, Will's condition at the moment was destabilized, and he was ready to fall on the floor to break like a fragile cup; it wasn't a surprise, in the psychiatrist's opinion, because Will had just gone through some intense emotions, a typical trigger considering the empath's daily state.</p><p>"Oh, no," the doctor breathed sincerely. As much as he wanted to maintain control of himself, he realized that he couldn't bear to hear Will's suffering in his voice – it was enough to challenge any previously built plans. Hannibal knew that this man might lead him to his doom one day, and he should find tolerable solutions. "Will, I want you," the doctor admitted while searching the eyes of the fleeing man.</p><p>The profiler laughed dryly, and it was a testament to his nerves that were now giving way, like strings that were too taut, they were breaking one after the other and one could almost hear the sound of them in the large office. Confusion was coming back in murderous waves, and as it mingled with the pain of rejection, it threatened to blow everything away in its path.</p><p>"You want me to spice up your evenings, to your brother and you," he said bitterly. It was now anger that was rising, born of something between rejection and feelings of injustice, and anger was probably the most dangerous emotion, because it made anyone say or do things that were unwanted. Hannibal definitely didn't want to enter this slippery slope, but Will was already skidding on it, and Hannibal saw that his eyes and face were twitching, unusual; incoherent. His eyeballs were no longer focusing normally on the environment.</p><p>Hannibal grabbed Will's wrist, firmly enough that the other man felt compelled to look up at him. Maybe it would help him not to fall into something undesirable. But Will didn't look at him, and his strange laugh rang out more and more - it almost seemed like some kind of religious possession. </p><p>"That's it, I'm a distraction, the fragile but exciting patient," he said with barely any interruption, and his head moved with his laughter as he unleashed his words as they came to him, "and then now you want us to take care of Abigail when you're hiding bodies behind my back, and she's a killer, and you're not a good person, you hide under your impeccable suits, but you're also actually a-"</p><p>Will had been just thinking out loud, verbalizing the ravings that pulsed in his skull until one too shocking thought made him stop in mid-word. At that moment, he looked up at Hannibal with eyes widened with terror and facial features distorted by shock, mouth agape, and it was sure that the psychiatrist had never witnessed this expression on him, not even when confronted with the discovery of corpses put together in a nightmarish manner.</p><p>Hannibal knew instantly that Will had seen, had understood. He was frozen like a horrified statue. The seconds lengthened abnormally in the air.</p><p>They were staring at each other, and it was clear that the first one to make a move would put the other in danger, for sure.</p><p>Will had the bad idea of using his arm to draw his gun.</p><p>**</p><p>Hannibal couldn't know exactly what elements had helped Will understand his nature. He had let his guard down a bit from the moment he had let Will come into the bed he shared with Nigel. Will had discovered at that moment that Hannibal was not really who he showed the world. And then Will had to figure out that Hannibal had lied, and other things. Finally, it was in the midst of his utter confusion that he had actually seen Hannibal. Because Hannibal had really let him see him, had let Will lead him into a spontaneous and delicious kiss. The monster had stepped out of his human skin suit, which wouldn't fool someone like Will Graham, he'd seen the demon in a three piece suit and hair styled with expensive products. He might not have identified the Chesapeake Ripper, but he'd seen too much already.</p><p>When he drew his weapon, Hannibal's first impulse was to disarm Will. But what would he do next? Kill him? That was inconceivable. Knock him unconscious? And then what? Lock him up or take him by force to the other side of the world? That wasn't an option.</p><p>So he let Will point the gun at him. Because, Will had no proof, only his overly sharp vision, personal suspicions. But his brain was becoming marmalade, so Hannibal was in no great danger regarding his double identity, because who would believe the restless Will of the last few days. Even the FBI wanted him to take time off.</p><p>Will was trembling slightly, and his arm wasn't perfectly straight, so if he decided to pull the trigger, even without wanting to kill Hannibal directly, the bullet could veer off course and cause irreparable damage.</p><p>"Who are you?" Will shouted, and a little sweat glistened on his forehead, as if his confusion was oozing out of every pore.</p><p>Hannibal had to be careful with his words and actions. Anything that scared or angered Will could lead to a bullet in his body from now on. "I'm Hannibal, your psychiatrist and your friend."</p><p>"No!" It was a firm shout. "You're a fucking liar, you're lying to everyone," the gunman vociferated, and then he added a few words that faded in a pained gasp, "You're lying to me."</p><p>Hannibal wondered if the fact that he had lied to him was perhaps more important to Will than the fact that he was a dangerous person.</p><p>"Will, please put the gun down, I can't talk to you with this threat on me," he tried in a soft, calm voice. The priority was clearly to be out of mortal danger.</p><p>Will hesitated, blinking steadily, his vision beginning to blur. "You'll kill me if I drop my gun." Then he added, with crystal clear certainty, "You're a killer."</p><p>Hannibal didn't answer right away, bared to his friend and aggressor. Will had the truth, brutal, and he saw Hannibal in his entirety. A part of the psychopath was exultant, because he deeply desired to reveal himself to the other man, it was like relieving something that had been itching for a long time, tugging at him, disagreeable. But another part of him was terribly displeased, because it was too soon to be accepted by Will. All of this threatened to destroy his efforts and this relationship, to bring Will down to nothing.</p><p>Hannibal had no choice but to be honest. Maybe Will could accept it if he stopped lying to him.</p><p>So the Chesapeake Ripper nodded, composedly, unashamedly confirming the fact that he was a killer. Without vocalizing it though. His eyes stared at Will's, and he opened his mouth to articulate, "But I promise I won't kill you. Put the gun down and we'll talk. You can hand me over to the police if you decide to, I'll accept that."</p><p>Will stared back at him; he searched Hannibal's eyes for the truth, and he saw it, clear as day, because he let his arm fall along his body, his fingers and arm trembling like a leaf in the wind. Tears rolled down the skin of his cheeks and mingled with sweat. Will seemed to blur into the background, ready to leave reality, or having already done so.</p><p>"What's happening to me...," he muttered, and looked down at his own hands, one of which held the firearm. "Am I a killer too?" He was talking to himself. "I am, we are both... "</p><p>As the gun fell to the floor, the sound muffled by the carpet, the killer in the room pounced on the weakened man and carried him dexterously into unconsciousness.</p><p>**</p><p>Nigel was strolling through a rather seedy part of town, content to smell the alcohol, cigarettes and sweat in the bars. He hoped that soon two men would be drunk enough to want to beat the crap out of each other, because it would be an entertaining show, and hopefully he could get involved and feel the adrenaline burning through his veins as he broke bones.</p><p>When his phone rang in his pocket, it could obviously only be his brother calling, because he was the only one with that number. He pulled out the device and pressed it to his ear as he blew out cigarette smoke, his eyes a little bleary. "Yeah?"</p><p>Hannibal used Lithuanian, and spoke only a minimal amount of words, in case they were being listened to. "Come to my office now."</p><p>Nigel, if he hadn't realized it was an emergency, would have grumbled at his brother and gone back to quietly sipping his beers. But he obviously understood that something important had happened, and that he had to help his twin brother. A few minutes later, he arrived at the psychiatrist's office.</p><p>**</p><p>When Nigel burst into the office, he stopped short when he saw Will unconscious and slumped in the black leather chair, his mouth open and his face soaked.</p><p>"Holy shit, did you drug him or what?" he shouted, looking up at his brother. "Did you shoot him?"</p><p>Hannibal rolled his eyes and didn't even take the time to deny these elements. "He had a seizure," he articulated, and then he moved closer to Nigel to whisper lower, in their native tongue, placing his hand on the crook of his elbow.  "He kissed me and then he understood who I was. He couldn't bear it, threatened me with his gun. I knocked him out."</p><p>The elder widened his eyes as he integrated the information and mentally reconstructed the scene, pictured, then let out a strange laugh. "Only that, fuck, I can't go get drunk in peace without you doing something stupid," he joked to lighten the tension in the room. They would have time to discuss the details of what had happened later. The important thing was to act, and fast.<br/>"What do you want us to do with him?" Nigel stared at Hannibal.</p><p>"We're going to take him home, and have him treated for his illness," the former doctor explained.</p><p>"What? You just told me he knows who you are and wanted to kill you, you're suicidal now," Nigel growled. "You didn't want to treat him before, but you do now, you're going crazy."</p><p>"He doesn't really know, he was in confusion. He thought he was a killer himself, he's too confused to discern reality from nightmares. After his seizures, he still has amnesia, so I think he'll wake up knowing something is wrong with me, without actually putting his finger on it. And if he opens his mouth, who would believe him, in his condition?"</p><p>Nigel pondered, trying to take in all the elements of the situation. "But if you fix him, his mind will be lucid again and he'll try to turn you in, and they'll probably believe him."</p><p>The psychiatrist smiled slightly, quite tenderly and enigmatically. "Not if we treat him with enough love, Nigel. He kissed me with passion, and he was mostly hurt by my lies and rejection. I do believe this man loves me."</p><p>**</p><p>1: dialogue from episode 9, season 1</p>
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